Fate Zero: The Sword of Akasha
by ariados26
Summary: Two existences that branch out from one. One girl, a selfless person who wished to become a hero. Another girl, a selfish individual who simply wanted to prove herself as a mage and a noble, and could care less about what happened to the common folk. Through a twist of fate, their paths cross, unaware that the two of them, once upon a time, were one and the same.
1. Prologue

**Note: **I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Familiar of Zero, and I am only writing this story purely for entertainment purpose only.

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**Prologue**

This is the story of a girl, a girl, who decided to follow the footsteps of the person who she believed in the most.

That person who she believed in, in reality, had also inherited that dream from someone who that person had also admired, that wish, although they were not exactly the same.

It was a simple wish really, one that was pure and came from the goodness of a person's heart: the wish to save everyone. The wish for everyone to be happy.

At least, that was the wish which the first person had, yet in the end he found it to be impossible. All he could do was minimize the damage, to save as many people as he can, yet never managing to save everyone. Kill one to save ten, eliminate ten to save a hundred, destroy a hundred lives to save a thousand, that was the path which he followed. Yet he found no recluse to the endless cycle, and all he found in the end was despair... almost. For at the end of his road, he still managed to find the peace that he was looking for. The son had taken the dream from his father's shoulder.

And thus, the son tried to do what his father could not, to try and fulfil the wish for everyone to be happy. He already knew that it was an impossible wish, yet he still struggled, and continued onwards to the path of despair..

Until he found love.

Love, it was something which the first man had, yet he decided to throw it away for the sake of his ideals, a mistake which he realized later in life, when it was already too late. His son who had inherited his dream, however, realized that this was the one true flaw of that dream, and thus did not make that grievous error. The son still continued the dream, and tried to minimize the damage and save as many people as possible, yet he did not throw away his heart.

One to save ten. Ten to save a hundred. A hundred to save a thousand. The man's son still continued on with this path, but whenever the his friends and loved ones become involved, he would change his priority.

Killing one to save ten, was ideally the correct choice. However, if that one was someone who he cared for, then the man's son would abandon the ten in favour of that person. Some would say that it was the right choice, others would say that it was wrong. Yet in reality, there was neither a right nor a wrong answer. For in truth, either choice would have its pros and cons.

He may have acted rashly. He may have acted selfishly. He may contradict his own principles, yet in the end, his conscience was clearer than if he had chosen otherwise. For in the end, no matter what happened, he did not betray his own heart.

And now, the man's son also had a daughter, adopted, just like he was, and she was now following the same path which he had followed in life.

This is the story of that girl. The girl who had nothing and was nothing at the beginning, yet managed to find love, as well as a reason to live and keep moving forward, on the path which she had chosen to take, without once stopping, without once retreating, with no intention of giving up until the very end.

**xxxXXXxxx**

The Legend of the Once and Future King of England has had many versions and variations. In all of them, however, King Arthur had always been depicted as a man. As far as a certain blonde-haired woman was concerned, however, she knew with certainty that that part of the legend was false.

As to how she was sure? Well, that is because she is, or was, Arturia Pendragon, now Arturia Emiya, the, or rather, the former King of Knights, and is now married for ten years to Shirou Emiya, the man she fell in love with.

During her time as the King of Britain, she had done her best to be a good ruler, and did everything in her power to protect her country. Even though she was a woman, she was as perfect as a King could be. However, the more perfect she was, the more her subjects distanced themselves from her, seeing her as someone who does not understand human emotions. And it was this which eventually led to the fall of her country.

In her dying moments, she sought a contract with the world, offering her service in exchange for acquiring the Holy Grail so that she can make a wish, to redo things. She wanted to turn back time and go back to where it all began, and she was actually contemplating on whether to try and become a better King or to refrain from taking up the throne altogether.

When she was summoned to the Fifth Heaven's Feel Holy Grail War, however, she realized that her wish was wrong. Resetting the past would not do any good, as it would only make the sacrifices of the knights who had remained loyal to her to the end become in vain.

And aside from that, she had fallen in love with her Master, the person who had convinced her to drop her foolish wish.

Dropping her desire to undo what has already been, Arturia wanted to stay with her Master, but due to certain revelations, which include the true identity of the Grail she was seeking, which was nothing but an evil Vessel that will destroy everything around it except the winner, she had thought that it was an impossible dream.

With great toil and effort, she managed to defeat Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, by matching his EX rank offensive noble phantasm, Enuma Elish, with her Avalon, Excalibur's sheath, which is an EX ranked ultimate defense, while her Master, Emiya Shirou, confronted and defeated Kotomine Kirei. And with their two greatest adversaries gone, they finally managed to destroy the Holy Grail.

Having spent all her mana in the fights that ensued, including the energy from her Master's final Command Seal, the King of Knights thought that it was over for her, and while she was sad at the parting, she accepted it without regret, and with her wish to seek the Holy Grail gone, she would have finally been able to find eternal rest in Avalon, the final part being the same as the ending that was told in the legends.

At least, that was what she expected to happen.

As far as Arturia was concerned, however, the only part of the legends that still holds true was only up to the part that she was mortally injured by Mordred.

The stories about the Death of King Arthur had practically remained the same. According to it, Bedivere, after two acts of disobedience, finally obeyed the King into throwing the Sword Excalibur into the water, effectively returning it to the Lady of the Lake.

But there was one. Out of all the versions of her legend, there was one, which was not paid much attention, but which also happened to be the closest to the real turn of events.

According to this version, which Arturia herself had read, while Bedivere carried King Arthur on horseback, the King suddenly vanished into a green ball of light and was taken somewhere that was beyond the realm of the world.

A most accurate account indeed.

"?!"

Suddenly the blonde-haired woman felt tense, as she heard a breaking sound coming from one of the rooms in the house.

Moving as quietly as she could, the former King of Knights, who was now a housewife, gently got out of bed, careful not to disturb her son, the nine year old boy who was sleeping beside her, from his slumber.

For a fleeting moment Arturia thought that it was a burglar who had come to rob their house of valuables, but the next moment she shook off the idea, remembering that the Emiya Residence had a Bounded Field which serves as an alarm against anyone who enters their home with malicious intent.

When she finally determined the source of the noise however, she could not help but feel a sense of dread, as a chill started running down her spine.

True, the source of the noise was not a burglar or an evil element that wanted to do harm to her and her family. In fact, it was nothing but a broken cup, and normally should not have been the source of any worry.

If only it did not turn out to be her daughter's favourite cup.

And that fact turned the former King of Knights into a very worried mother.

**xxxXXXxxx**

It was a normal and uneventful night like always in Paris, France. The sky was midnight blue, dotted by the stars which were still visible despite the number of artificial lights which were scattered throughout the entire city. In the distance you could see the Eiffel Tower, one of the seven wonders of the world.

In one of the abandoned buildings in the less populated area of the city, something which was far from normal and uneventful was happening. In the darkness of that unused placed, a party was ongoing.

However, it was not your typical party, not a birthday party, not a reunion, nor a wedding reception. The closest kind of party to the one which was being held was a funeral.

Except that unlike a funeral, in which a number of living people would mourn for the death of one or two individuals, all of the people who attended this particular party were already dead. Mindless, rotting, walking corpses, that know nothing but thirst and hunger, only existing to instinctively kill and destroy, to prey on consume the blood of all living beings within their reach, with humans on top of the list.

"Come, my loyal minions. Allow me, your master, to feast upon the fruits of your labor!"

As well as to deliver the blood which they collected to their master, a Dead Apostle, a vampire of a much higher calibre, the one who is overall responsible for turning the innocent living humans into mindless corpse puppets.

The Dead Apostle was pleased. Three hundred of his slaves that were filled to the brim with blood was indeed quite a haul, with many more to come, and even more would soon rise. Having just freed himself from the one who turned him a year before, compared to the Dead Apostle Ancestors, he was nothing but an upstart, that much he knew. Still, given time, by consuming more blood, he would become stronger. He knew it would probably take another year, a decade, or perhaps even a century for him to feel the effects, depending on how much blood he can collect, but it did not matter much to him, for being an immortal, time was his friend, not his enemy.

He may still be weak in comparison to the Ancestors, but he was more than capable of dealing with a normal human being, his strength greater by a hundred fold. With the power he owns, and with the army of undead under his command that was growing larger with every person that become their victim, someday he would have enough power to take over the country, and perhaps even the world.

These were the kind of thoughts that was occupying the mind of the vampire, before a sword shaped like a corkscrew pierced through his heart and exploded, killing him almost instantly, his scorched body parts flying in every direction, beyond recognition.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Louise Francoise Le Blanc de la Valliere is a failure as a mage. She was a genius when it comes to theories and written exams, but when it comes to application of magic, she was useless. Completely and utterly useless.

As had been taught to them by their teacher, there are four base elements: earth, fire, wind and water. Naturally, due to their particular affinities, most students are unable to cast all the spells properly, due to elemental affinity and compatibility.

In Louise's case, however, despite being proven to possess magic, she could not cast a single spell properly, not even the basic ones like Silencing Spells that do not require any affinity and can be cast supposedly by anyone, needing only magical energy.

Whatever spell she tried to perform, simple or complex no matter how she tried, she always ended failing. Sometimes, the spell she would use would not do what it was intended. At other times, nothing would even happen. But worst of all, most the time that she tried to cast even the simplest of spells... it would end in an explosion.

Thus, her zero success rate at magic has earned her the nickname 'Louise the Zero.'

"You may begin."

"Yes, Professor Colbert."

And now was her last chance to prove herself as a mage. Her written exams may have been enough to pull up her grades to allow her to pass every subject, but unlike the other tests, succeeding in the Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual was a requirement for her to be able to move into the second year. Otherwise, she will have no choice but to leave the school as a failure.

"My servant who resides somewhere in this vast universe! My divine, beautiful, wise and powerful servant heed my call!

Focusing all of her magical energy, ignoring the taunts and snide comments coming from her classmates, the pink-haired mage started chanting her spell one more time.

"I wish and assert from the very bottom of my heart, Answer my guidance and appear!"

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Target eliminated. Initiating cleanup procedure."

From her lookout on top of one of the fancy hotels in Paris, a girl with pink hair and who was wearing a red overcoat stated the success of her mission, although it was to no one in particular, as the bow she held in her hand vanished, replaced by three moderately long, thin blades: Black Keys.

She is an Executor of the Church, the youngest female to have joined the Burial Agency ever since its formation, as well as the second youngest member to have joined, second only to the former member and now deceased Kotomine Kirei, who became a member when he was only ten years old. She joined about two years ago, when she was only fifteen years old.

Being a prodigy when it comes learning, at least the knowledge and theoretical part, she was able to finish her secondary education when she was only nine, and when she was eleven, thanks to the advanced method of schooling known as Distance Learning, she had already graduated from college by taking an Online Learning Course offered by a respectable university. Had she really wanted to, it would have been possible for the young pink-haired girl to take on many kinds of profession, and she could have also chosen to go on and study at the Clock Tower in London, the area which is used as the main base and stronghold of the Mage's Association.

Magecraft or thaumaturgy, the artificial re-enactment of a mystery, or in other words, the ability to perform a miracle, to make something believed to be impossible possible. This was an ability which she possessed. Basically, despite all her hard work at studying the concepts and underlying concepts, despite understanding them by heart, the pinkette was no good at application. Every single time, no matter how hard she tried, most of the spells she cast, instead of simply not having an effect, would end in an explosion. That is, of course with the exception of five particular spells. And it was her prowess in these which would have caught the attention of the Mage's Association, although she never joined.

Despite her constant and open use of magecraft, she had been allowed to join the ranks of the Executors. She may use magecraft as her primary method for offense and defense, but when it comes right down to it, her ideals and beliefs ironically coincide much more with the Church than with the Mage Association.

Forty-six. In the two years that she had served as an Executor, the pink-haired girl had already killed forty-six heretical and formidable magi, not counting the five which she killed before joining. Each of these magi had their own unique abilities, yet these powers they have had not been able to save them from death by her hands.

And thus, just like her adoptive father before him, she had been dubbed as the Third Magus Killer.

Most of the undead she had met, with the exception of two vampires and one of the three Dead Apostles she has eliminated, did so only out of the need to survive, out of necessity. Most of the mages she met, on the other hand, hurt humans even though it was not a requirement for them to be able to continue living, using them for their research and experiments, not to mention that they themselves were also human.

Magi are worse than monsters.

Such is the belief that is held by the young pink-haired member of the 8th Sacrament. She may have hunted down and killed several undead and vampires, including three Dead Apostles, but when it comes right down to it, she never hated them as much as she did mages, for most vampires were also victims themselves. Most of the magi she met that abused their power and hurt innocent people, however, do not have this root as an excuse, only blaming it to tradition, which to her, was not pardonable. Thus, whilst she was willing to give Dead Apostles a swift and painless death, she was not so inclined to give the same courtesy to the mages she hunted down. The only reason why she never tortured her victims even if they are mages was because of the chance for them to retaliate. After all, the result of a death match is unclear even one side has the clear advantage until it is over, so it is always best to dispose of the enemy as soon as possible.

When it comes to capture missions though, the young pinkette took the time to torture and break them until they confess and spit out the information she requires, after which they are made to suffer a slow and painful death, unless they are still needed alive even after the information has been extracted.

The vampires and undead, on the other hand, she would give them a swift and merciful end.

"May God have mercy on your soul," the girl said to the mindless creatures in front her, before throwing half a dozen Black Keys at them, which burned and incinerated the walking corpses the moment the weapons made contact.

Having scanned the building using Structural Analysis, she knew that she was greatly outnumbered.

_Three hundred against one? Good odds for any Executor. _The young girl thought inwardly with a smirk.

Killing a hoard of them would definitely take time, but so long as there is no vampire or Dead Apostle among them, handling even such a large multitude was a piece of cake.

"Trace on," the pinkette whispered, and almost instantly, two spears, one blood red, the other golden, appeared, the latter slightly shorter than the other, both of which feeling at home in her hands.

The girl charge towards the multitude of living corpses, wielding the spears in such a way that only an expert at using them could do, and with her skill at using the long weapons, the young Executor began her execution of the walking dead.

In a short amount of time, which was less than a quarter of an hour, the pinkette managed to eliminate the entire legion.

"Mission accomplished," the young female Executor told herself, dematerializing her weapons, as she allowed a small sad smile to grace her lips.

Despite the fact that they were already nothing but mindless zombies, even though she was able to control her emotions, the fact that she lived to slaughter those which were once human still shook her heart. However, the thought that what she had done ensured that her actions helped saved innocent lives brought her some comfort.

Satisfied with the result, the young Executor proceeded to wipe the dust from her clothes and jumped out of the window, as had become her habit.

"?!"

This time, however, instead of landing gracefully onto the pavement, the young pinkette, to her horror, found herself falling straight for something other than the ground.

A distortion.

Sensing the danger she was in, the young Executor immediately tried to jump away.

But it was too late to change her trajectory, an error on her part that was caused by a moment of carelessness.

_Crap..._

Realizing that there was nothing else she could do, Emiya Sakura, the adopted daughter of Emiya Shirou and Emiya Arturia, braced herself, Reinforcing her body as much as possible, trying to keep her balance as she fell into the large green portal that had appeared out of nowhere, a portal which for some reason, felt strangely familiar, as if she had already had the same experience once before.

**xxxXXXxxx**

**To be continued...**

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**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Alright, this is the first chapter for my new fic, my first ever Fate Stay Night and Familiar of Zero Crossover, entitled Fate Zero: The Sword of Akasha, and I wrote this out of an inspiration I got from reading Gabriel Blessing's Platinum works, namely 'In Flight,' and the 'The Hill of Swords.' And before I forget, I should also mention that this idea came to me completely after I read the attempt at a continuation of 'The Hill of Swords' called 'Double Zero', in which Louise summoned... herself.

These three crossover fics definitely inspired me. My story though will have a completely different concept.

Now, this story, as you may have noticed, may seem to have an OC, but no, it does not. In fact, this story, while not blaming Zelretch directly, will make use of the theory of the Kaleidoscope. Louise Valliere and Sakura Emiya (not Sakura Matou), I'm sure you can already guess the connection between them, and it's somehow similar to Shirou and Archer.

Since this is only the beginning, not everything is clear yet, but don't worry, everything will be slowly explained and (the elements, abilities, the reason why this is like this, that is like that, etc) will come to light as the chapters progress.

And for those of you who are wondering, yes this story also makes use of an altered Fate Route ending, in which something happens that ends up with Saber managing to stay after destroying the Grail, although like I said a little earlier, everything will be explained in due time.

Also, in this story, there is a 50-50 chance that Saito will appear, more likely as the familiar of a certain half elf. I'm not promising anything though, since even though I like Familiar of Zero in general, I do not like the main characters that much, and in fact, if I were to pick a favourite character or two, it would be Tabitha and Kirche.

But enough about that...

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then, people...


	2. Chapter 1

**Note: **I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Familiar of Zero, and I am only writing this story purely for entertainment purpose only.

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**Chapter 1**

Anger. It was the emotion which presently filled the heart of the young Executor whose name is Emiya Sakura. However, her rage was not directed at anyone in particular, as the anger that she felt was one that was aimed at herself.

Never let your guard down. That was the advice which had been given to her by her mother. Whenever a soldier is on a battlefield, he should always be alert and on the lookout for even the slightest changes, to expect the unexpected. Even when victory seemed assured, one should never be too complacent.

And that was exactly the mistake that she made. Having gone through a number of successful missions, she had become lax, and thus overlooked the possibility that her enemies may have figured out her habits- like jumping out of a building, and set up a trap that was especially made for her. Too occupied with her thoughts, she was caught off guard, and did not manage to register the large amount of prana that was forming in close proximity to her.

Regardless, it was too late for her to regret it, so she decided to focus on the much more pressing matter at hand.

Having taken up the title and gotten a reputation as the Magus Killer, having killed and assassinated several prominent mages, she really should have seen something like this coming.

Fifty mages and counting. Based from the number of prana signatures that she could sense, as well as the way they were positioned, there was no doubt about it. She was surrounded by fifty mages. Counting everything that happened so far, if her guess was correct, then she had undoubtedly fallen for a trap.

It was simple and effective. Wait for her to exhaust herself, and then, when she was at her weakest, cast a spell that would force her into a situation wherein she was helpless. She was caught like a fly in a flytrap.

Still, even though she dropped her guard before, adapting quickly to changes in the situation is one of the skills which Sakura has gained from the number of times she has entered the battlefield. And thus, in a matter of a few seconds, taking advantage of the cover of the smoke, the young Executor was already prepared.

Projection, a form of Magecraft that creates something out of nothing. And just like her father, Sakura also had the ability to Trace anything that belonged to the category 'swords,' or 'blades,' perfectly. She could not yet manifest her Reality Marble like she had seen her father use it before, but her level of Tracing was already at par with his.

The only problem is, despite all her training, she is still only able to successfully maintain up to a dozen Projected blades at a single time. Against a group of magi that was twice that number, each one with an unknown ability, not to mention that they have her surrounded making escape almost impossible, she was still at a severe disadvantage.

To make matters worse, she was still exhausted from her battle with the undead. The odds were stacked heavily against her. It was still hopeless. She was still going to die. Still...

_No, I can't give up! _The pinkette shook her head as she dismissed her negative thoughts. _There are people waiting for me back home._

One major difference between Sakura's and the original idea of a hero of justice was including herself in the equation. Her grandfather had thrown his family away, as well as himself, for the sake of his ideals. However, as she and her father had come to realize, it was a wrong way of thinking. Throwing away oneself for the sake of others would be the same as killing a part of the soul and heart of their friends and loved ones.

Just like her father, Emiya Shirou, Emiya Sakura does not really see any value in her own life. However, her father, her mother and her friends valued her life as priceless, and for that reason,, she will fight tooth and nail to stay alive. Just for their sake, she will never throw away her own life needlessly. They see her life as something valuable. Therefore, she will treat her life as something valuable.

_There has to be a way..._the pinkette told herself through gritted teeth.

"Hahaha! Nothing but a blast. She failed again!"

"Yeah, what else would you expect from Louise the Zero?"

For some reason though, as she heard the jeers and loud taunts of someone that were made by the magi around her, she could not help but get the feeling that her theory could be a mistake.

_No, I can't let my guard down,_ Sakura convinced herself, as she maintained the blades Projected in her mind, while her hand gripped tightly at the smoke bomb in her hands. She could feel a lot of malice in the air, but none of them, save for one, was murderous. And the one that was murderous was only a half-baked killing intent which not only was it not aimed at her, it was also unlikely that the person who had it would even dare to put it into action.

Soon enough, the smoke dissipated, and when it did...

"?!"

She found herself facing a pink-haired girl with reddish brown eyes, flawless white skin and strawberry white hair, her face wearing a look of shock that Sakura knew mirrored her own.

Due to her constant use of Projection, Emiya Sakura, just like her father, had gone through changes in physical appearance. True, her white skin tone, unlike her father's which was now tanned, remained unaffected. However, her hair, while still pink, was now paler and slightly silvery, and her eyes, which were once reddish brown, was now steel grey. True, she did not really mind the change so much, but somehow, it made her feel a bit sad, for the original color of her hair and eyes reminded her of someone, someone who she does not remember too well, yet had a place in Sakura's heart.

Her parents, Sakura knew, had always been forthcoming with her. They loved her as their daughter, as their own flesh and blood, yet they never hid the truth that she was adopted, nor did they hide how they found her, although this did not matter to her either, and Sakura loved them back as well with all her heart.

She was told all these as she gradually grew older, of course, making sure that she was mentally prepared for it, but they had always been honest with her when it comes to her past, as well as her condition, which happens to be memory loss.

She was suffering from amnesia, seven years' worth of it. According to her father and mother, for some reason or another, she appeared before them at the Ryuudou Temple, almost immediately after they destroyed the Holy Grail, a Grail which, according to them, had nothing Holy about it, and it was actually filled with billions of curses, with All the Evils of the World. Her mother, Arturia, had told her this story a few times, about her life as King Arthur and her desire to change the past which led her to seek the Grail, and how Shirou managed to convinced her that her wish was wrong.

In truth, however, she did not remember, and had no recollection of the incident.

Still, even though she has no memories of the incident, Sakura believed them. Her memories may be jumbled at the time, and in fact, from her perspective, the first time she met them was in a hospital, but even still, she believed them, for she trusted her parents completely. Besides, they actually managed to convince her that magic is real, even though she did not believe in its existence at the time.

However, even though she had forgotten almost everything, there was one memory in her mind that had remained from those seven missing years.

...

_A girl with pink hair, around fourteen or fifteen years of age, with gentle reddish-brown eyes that are full of warmth, gently brushing Sakura's hair with her soft hands._

_..._

And now, as she looked at the girl in front of her, that particular memory started replaying in her head, clearer than ever before.

Sakura was actually stunned. Being a trained and experienced warrior who has good control over her emotions, it only lasted for a fleeting moment, yet in that one point in time that did not last for even a second, she was absolutely completely frozen, at the sight which met her eyes.

"A commoner."

The moment the girl opened her mouth and spoke two words as if in disgust, however, any sense of nostalgia and confusion that Sakura felt instantly vanished, and was replaced by a feeling of anger and irritation.

They might look the same, but the girl in front of her could not possibly be the person from her memories.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"I cannot allow that, Ms. Valliere."

"Why not?"

"It is strictly forbidden. When you are promoted to a second year student, you must summon a familiar, which is what you just did. Your elemental specialty is decided by the familiar that you summon. It enables you to advance to the appropriate courses for that element. You cannot change the familiar once you have summoned it because the 'Springtime Familiar Summoning' is a sacred rite. Whether you like it or not, you have no choice but to take her."

"But... I've never heard of having a commoner as a familiar!"

Louise Valliere was not happy. She had strived hard, and done everything to the utmost of her abilities, to become a learned and at least acceptable mage, both to prove herself, and also so that she would not disgrace her family. All her efforts, however, seemed to be for nought.

Spell after spell, no matter how she tried, she would fail. And now, even her 'Summon Servant,' spell, was a failure. Technically, it was a success, but the fact that the one she summoned was plebeian, a mere commoner, made her feel like a disgrace. Even now, she could not help but envy her other classmates, who summoned proper animals, even the most meagre ones, like frogs and birds as their familiars. Yet here she was, stuck with probably the worst successful casting of the familiar summoning spell in the history of Tristain, or perhaps even the entire continent.

As all this was going on in the mind of the pink-haired mage, another figure, the person in question, was standing on the sidelines, observing silently, scanning her surroundings with her cold, calculating eyes.

In truth, at this point in time, the young Executor still did not fully comprehend her situation. However, after listening to the conversation between the pink-haired girl and the balding man with glasses, she now has a very good idea of what happened to her.

The spell used on her was probably some sort of transport spell that brought her to an unknown location, to some secluded cult or group that studied magecraft that had somehow managed to avoid detection until present, for even the Church did not have any records of such a place.

Still, it did not really matter, as the root of the matter is that she has been summoned, and she was now almost completely convinced that these people, despite being mages, were not assassins or enemies that were out to take their revenge on the Magus Killer, and in fact, she was probably summoned almost completely by coincidence. And if her guess was correct, she was probably in a school magic.

_The language they use, it's French. I'm probably still somewhere in France, but where in France exactly?  
_

However, even though it was probably just an accident that she was summoned, that did not stop Sakura from getting angry. She might have been able to maintain a calm facade on the outside, but she was actually seething on the inside. It was bad enough that she had been summoned and whisked away by these people. However, what truly got to Sakura's nerve...

...was the fact that she was summoned to be someone's slave, to be someone's familiar.

The young Executor of course, was aware of these kinds of occurrences, and in fact, her own parents, who had participated in the Holy Grail War were living proof. Her father was the Master while her mother was her Servant, a heroic spirit that had been summoned through the ages to fight for the prize which was the Holy Grail, although it turned out to be corrupt.

Her mother, however, had answered the call of her summoning willingly. In fact, when it comes to the circumstances of her mother's summoning, it was actually her father, the 'Master,' who had been forced into it.

Sakura, on the other hand, had not given her consent.

"This is a tradition, Miss Vallière. I cannot allow any exceptions; she," The middle-aged magus pointed at Sakura. "May be a commoner, but as long as she was summoned by you, she must be your familiar. Never in history has a human been summoned as a familiar, but the Springtime Familiar Summoning takes precedence over every rule. In other words, there is no other way around it; she must become your familiar."

And the way they talked about her really ticked off the Executor.

"You have got to be joking..." the girl drooped her shoulders in disappointment.

Tradition. That was one of the most common damn excuses that was always used by magi when they commit atrocities, not caring for the innocent lives that were harmed because of their actions.

And it made her sick.

"Well then, continue with the ceremony."

"With her?"

"Yes, with her. Hurry. The next class will begin any minute. How much more time is this summoning going to take? After mistake upon mistake, you have finally managed to summon her. Hurry and form a contract." The bald professor told his student with impatience in his voice, while the rest of the students laughed at the pinkette.

"Hey," the girl said, addressing her for the first time. Sakura, however, did not respond, too occupied with controlling her emotions.

"You should count yourself lucky. Normally, you'd go your whole life without a noble doing this to you."

A small part of Sakura actually pitied the girl, for it was easy to tell that she was being bullied in a way, but after all that she had seen, even though it had only been a glimpse, the young member of the 8th sacrament felt that none of them, including the girl, deserved any. The girl might look similar to the person in Sakura's memories, but based from the attitude that she saw, aside from the fact that years had passed since then so there could have been a change in her physical appearance, they could not possibly be the same person.

"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being and make her my familiar." The girl chanted as she waved the wooden stick in her hands.

In truth, Sakura, being an Executor, as well as the fact that she had spent time with infuriating people like two of her Aunts, had acquired a long... a very long patience, or rather self control. Even when she was just about ready to tear apart everything around her, she normally managed to maintain the facade of a calm demeanour on the outside.

Now, however, Sakura was nearing the breaking point of her patience. First she was summoned against her will, and now the person who was undoubtedly responsible was trying to bind her like an animal! She had to admit, she was somehow impressed with the familiars that the other students apparently summoned, especially the dragon since it was supposed to be extinct, but she, she was human!

And it made it difficult, really difficult for her to maintain her composure. However, she knew that she had to bear with it. For the last time that she had lost control over emotions, it almost cost the life of one of her friends.

_Damn it. What should I do? Think, Sakura, think!_ The young Executor urged herself, as she tried to think of a way to escape her situation. Based from what she had seen, most of the people around her were more lax and carefree than a normal magus, almost as if the school of magic she was in was just like any regular school, but they were still magic users.

And aside from that, the balding teacher was an even more worrisome threat. His voice might seem gentle, but his eyes, his eyes that were hidden behind his glasses, were identical to the ones which Sakura herself wore: they were the eyes of a killer.

_I guess I have no other choice_, the Magus Killer thought to herself. When the pink-haired girl, who had been walking towards her, was about a foot away from Sakura.

"**Air Hammer!"** Sakura shouted, assaulting the pinkette with a mass of downward air pressure who, taken completely by surprise, was slammed head first into the ground and knocked out immediately.

"?!"

And as Sakura expected, the teacher was the quickest to react, almost as if he had sensed the hostility coming from her even before she struck. However, he was not fast enough. For at that moment...

"AAAARGH!"

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"

Screams could be heard coming from the students, as a large number of crows suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing pandemonium. Some of them started firing their spells at the birds, while the rest scattered, running in every direction.

Black Keys, the standard weapon of choice of members of the Burial Agency, are all imbued with spells that are primarily used to combat the undead. However, these particular spells could also be used for a different purpose. The Jhator Sacrament is a spell which makes crows appear to eat and attack the target. However, the crows can also be used simply as a distraction.

She still had the swords she had prepared beforehand in her mindscape, but she decided not to, seeing that it was no longer necessary.

Sakura had to admit though that she was quite surprised, for it was the first time that she had seen this particular form of magecraft. The magi, as she saw them, were indeed using magic from various elements, like fire, wind and water. However...

_They don't seem to be using their Magic Circuits, _thought the young Executor, noticing that while the mages did indeed possess magical energy, none of them seem to be using their own, and were instead using the mana available in the air and focusing it on their wands and staves, which seem to act out the role of Circuits._ No, this isn't the right time to be thinking about such things..._

"**Invisible Air."**

Taking advantage of the panic and chaos, Sakura scooped up the unconscious girl named Louise and held her in her arms, using the spell which she developed from her mother's technique of concealing her sword, rendering themselves invisible, before she made her escape, taking the pink-haired girl along with her.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"This is troubling indeed."

Inside of his office, Osmond, the Headmaster of Tristain Magic Academy, was literally sweating beads, despite the cold evening, caused by the events a few hours before, namely the disappearance and apparent abduction of one of their students, Louise Valliere, and the culprit behind it was none other than her own familiar.

Due to the turn of events, the old headmaster cancelled the classes for the rest of the day, and in fact, indefinitely, as he had all those under his command, the teachers, his secretary, as well as most of the members of the school's labor force to assist in the effort, along with some of the students who volunteered to help out in the search as well.

Yes, it was certainly troubling, the fact that one of the students had been kidnapped right under the nose of the teacher. What made it even more disturbing, however aside from the fact that it was a familiar summons that did it, was because the one who was taking charge of the class at the time was Jean Colbert, a good-natured, yet sharp and powerful person.

Old Osmond did not fault the bald teacher for his failing after he explained the circumstances, but the old principal had to admit that for a formidable fire element square class mage who incinerated entire armies during his time as a soldier, retired though he was, to be bested, was something that could have only been done by an equally formidable individual. And in this case, surprisingly enough, it turned out to be the girl that was summoned by Louise Valliere during the Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual.

Yes, Old Osmond was indeed worried. One of the students has been abducted, and it will no doubt affect the reputation of his school, as the students would without a doubt write to their parents about the incident. But what worried the old Principal the most, however, was not the prestige of the school, nor was it because of the possibility for him to be removed and kicked out from his position. In fact, the old headmaster was actually contemplating on the idea of resigning and leaving.

For the real reason why he was feeling nervous, was because the student that was kidnapped...

...was a Valliere.

And Old Osmond knew that failure was not option. They need to bring back the pink-haired female alive and well no matter what. For if they fail...

_Karin will have all our heads for this,_ the old man thought with a shudder, as he recalled the frighteningly powerful former captain of the Manticore Knights. Osmond may be a square class wind mage himself, but when it comes right down to it, he was no match for the Duchess de la Valliere, Karin the Heavy Wind, who was only listed as a square class wind mage officially, but in the old man's opinion, she was actually much more powerful than that.

And she also happened to be Louise's mother.

Yes, the girl must be found as soon as possible, before any harm could come to her.

Little did old Osmond know that the person they were looking for was closer... much, much closer to home than he would have ever imagined.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Inside of her room in Tristain Magical Academy, a girl with pink hair and scarlet brown eyes, a student who went by name Louise Valliere, had woken up from her slumber, feeling slightly dazed

She had been dreaming a strange dream, a strange yet happy dream.

In that dream, she was walking between two people, each one of them holding one of her small frail hands.

One of them was a man, a gentle and loving young man with auburn hair and golden brown eyes that shone with kindness. The other was a woman, a beautiful woman with blonde hair and strong green eyes, eyes, which, despite the steel in them, was filled with warmth and care. In that dream, Louise called them Father and Mother. They are her parents in that dream, and they were taking here outside for some fun.

They visited many places, places which Louise must admit amazed her. Self-sustaining quills that do not require ink bottles. moving paintings in a box. There were even strange carriages, carriages which move by themselves, that do not need a horse for them to move. She even saw a giant bird or dragon that seemed to be mostly of metal, moving at speeds that were much faster than any of the dragons she had seen before. And whatever she asked, whatever she wanted to get, her parents would consent and buy it for her. They were celebrating her birthday after all.

And when they got home that night, a surprise was waiting for her, for her friends had also prepared a surprise party for her. She was having the time of her life.

It was at that point that Louise Valliere woke up from her slumber.

In truth, Louise actually did not want to get up from her bed, for she was enjoying her dream too much. For in that dream, she was free, without any care for the world. And her dream parents had done for her what she truly wanted from them: show her their love and affection, something which her real parents had never done for Louise.

Unfortunately, she did not have much of a choice, for that day was the day when they were performing the Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual. A crucial test, that would ultimately decide her fate as a student of Tristain Magical Academy, whether or not she was competent enough to stay. Should she fail, she will be expelled, and forced to return in disgrace to her home, where her disappointed parents would undoubtedly become even more distant than they already were, and she would be ignored for the rest of her life until such time that her perents found someone suitable to marry her off to.

Groaning in complaint, the grumpy pink-haired female forced herself out of bed, staggered towards the cabinet, pulled out some clothes, and started to get dressed, pinching herself now on then to keep herself awake.

_What time is it?_ Louise muttered in her thoughts, as she looked at her wall clock, which was located adjacent to the calendar and her list of things to do.

_So it's only seven o'clock,_ the pinkette thought, feeling relieved, and at the same time pleased with herself, that she had somehow managed to wake up one earlier than the appointed time. _Goo-_

"Kyaaah!"

Or so she thought. As she looked at the calendar, however, and saw that the date had a cross mark on it, the calendars being magically designed to put a cross mark on the days that had passed and set itself, Louise could not help but feel horrified.

She wasn't one hour early for the Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual. The truth is, she was actually one hour short of coming one day late for it.

Cursing herself for _oversleeping_, the alarm young girl tried to turn heel and rush towards the door.

?!

Only to find herself unable to do so.

"I can't move," the pinkette stated in shock. Panicking, the girl started struggling, trying to force her legs to move. Yet no matter how she tried or willed them to, they simply won't budge.

"Don't even bother, you won't be able use your legs unless I allow you to." Mused a voice.

Suddenly, despite the fact that all windows were closed, a small gust of wind started forming in the room.

Eventually, the wind died down, and when it did.

The third daughter of the Valliere family could not help but gape, for in front of her, at the spot where the wind seemed to have come from, a person appeared.

A girl with silvery pink hair, wearing a red overcoat over her casual clothes and had a small smile playing on her lips, her steel grey eyes glinting with amusement.

"Good morning, Ms. Valliere. Did you sleep well?"

**xxxXXXxxx**

**To be continued...**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Alright, another chapter out. Now, I have to admit that I did not really have much enthusiasm for this crossover at first, seeing as there are already much cooler crossovers than the one I made. However, it got a better response than I thought, so I decided to proceed with it. Hopefully, even if my works could not compare with those of gabriel blessing, and James D. Fawkes, Third Fang and Neoalfa, and others, all of whom I recognize and acknowledge as better writers than myself, I hope you find this fic at least good and satisfactory enough.

Stories like this with dimensional crossing, as we all know, can easily be blamed to Zelretch(Type-Moon) or the Witch of Dimensions(Tsubasa Chronicles) and others, although the Dead Apostle Ancestor, Zelretch is probably fanfic writers' favourite blame toy for dimension-crossing related incidents (oh, forgot about Kurama, Tobi, and Madara and Naruto himself from Naruto). In this story, however, the person who became a victim and the person who is to blame are the same and at the same time not the same. If you read this chapter, I'm sure you already got hints. As to what really happened and how things came to be, it will eventually be revealed as the chapters progress.

I've gotta admit though that what I'm doing is not easy. Someone (though I will not mention who) PM-ed me that the main reason why I don't follow canon material or use canon material is because I do not know how to do insert type cross overing and that is the reason why I don't do it and instead I make my own plot. Well, I hope with my use of the cliché summoning ritual I managed to prove myself enough. I'm still making my own plot, but I hope that even if it's just a small portion, I managed to insert some canon text to fit in well enough in my story.

Oh, and if you do see some grammatical or usage error, please feel free to point them out, especially if it is critical to the flow or meaning of the part. Your help would be much appreciated.

Also, before I forget, I am looking for ideas (since I'm running out of them honestly) for my other fic, Fate: Zero Tranquility. Anything would be fine, anything at all, but what I'm particularly looking for are jokes, since sadly, humour is not my specialty, but I try my best.

But anyway, enough about that...

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then, people...


	3. Chapter 2

******Note: **I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Familiar of Zero, and I am only writing this story purely for entertainment purpose only.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Good morning, Ms. Valliere. Did you sleep well?"

It was not easy to describe exactly what kind of emotion Louise Valliere had at that point. A few moments before, she had been frantic, panicking at the fact that she was late, severely late for the critical trial known as the Springtime Familiar Summoning, the result of which would decide whether or not she could continue her magical education at Tristain Academy of Magic.

Now, however, as she looked at the face of the girl in front of her, her memories of the previous day's incident abruptly returned.

Yes, she now remembered exactly what happened. After her sixth try at trying to cast the 'Summon Servant,' spell, she finally succeeded at doing so in the seventh. Unfortunately, unlike her classmates, all of whom managed to summon proper animals as familiars, she ended up summoning a human, a mere commoner. Oh, the shame of it.

As such, being the kind of person the third daughter of the Valliere happened to be, there is only one kind of reaction that she could elicit.

"YOU! I REMEMBER NOW! IT'S YOU! YOU'RE THE PLEBEIAN I SUMMONED YESTERDAY!"

And thus, the young pink-haired mage began ranting off, as a string of insulting and degrading statements started firing incessantly from her mouth. She was angry, she was frustrated, and the source of her frustration was right in front of her. There was no stopping her from taking out her anger on the source.

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU FILTHY COMMO-"

"_Commoner?_"

"?!"

Louise was shocked into silence. Unlike her shouting, the voice which spoke was calm, and yet, it was loud enough to be heard through the din she was making, piercing through it like knife cutting through butter.

The pink-haired mage wanted to retort, yet she could not, for she was at a loss for words.

Her inability to move. The sudden gust of wind coupled with her appearance. _Spells._

"You," Louise whispered after a moment of silence, her eyes widening in realization. "You're a mage."

"Indeed I am," the woman with silvery pink hair replied, the glint in her eyes shining even brighter. "It seems, young lady that you have finally realized."

"You've just committed a grave offense against a fellow magus."

Louise however, did not notice the amusement in the girl's face, registering only her words, and was now at a loss. Had she taken time to think about things, she probably would have realized that the situation she was in was suspicious, and that she might still have cards to play in counter. The girl, after all, noble or not, did assault her the day before. And aside from that, the fact that she was in her room, without her permission, as well as the unprovoked use of an immobilization spell, could also be counted as an assault.

However, due to her distraught state, the only thought which registered in her mind was the negative side, as well as her most recent course of action.

_By the Founder! She's a noble! I shouted and called a fellow mage a commoner!_ The young pink-haired mage was wailing in her thoughts.

Realizing what she had done, the pink-haired mage knew there was only one thing she could do.

"I'm s-sorry! I didn't mean to call you a-a—I didn't realize. Please forgive me for my rudeness!"

And thus, the third daughter of the Valliere, who had foul words and insults coming out of her mouth just moments before, was now apologizing, her voice wavering in nervousness, as she bowed before the other female with every sentence of apology in reflex, not realizing that she had just regained the use of her limbs, and was now kneeling on the floor, the force of the spell being the one that kept her in standing position.

"I-I," Louise squeaked, as she tried to find the right words to say to her already long apology, but before she could speak she was cut off.

"Look, Ms. Valliere," the woman with silvery-pink hair began. "I am not angry at you because you called me a commoner. If you must know, I have spent my life dealing with all sorts of people, many of whom have even worse manners than yours, although I must say for a girl you certainly lack them." At this Louise, despite the guilty feeling she had, felt some anger rise from within her, but she restrained herself from showing it, knowing that she was the one at fault.

"What you did to, or rather tried to do to me was worse than any insult anyone could throw."

As the woman said these words, the young Valliere felt a chill run down her spine.

"Yesterday," the woman with silvery pink hair began quietly. "You've committed two grave offenses against me. First, you tried to steal my familiar..."

"Steal you fami-?!" Louise began, feeling outrage at the accusation, but she immediately closed her mouth, when she saw that a crow suddenly appeared from nowhere and perched itself on the grey-eyed girl's shoulder.

"... and then, not only did you try to steal my familiar, you also tried to bind me, a fellow noble, like some kind of pet." The woman finished.

Louise was frightened, and felt like a prey being cornered by a predator, as she heard the woman speak. The tone of her voice had not changed, and was still friendly and cheerful. But her eyes... her grey eyes were now hard and cold, the bright cheery glint coming from them now replaced by a dark and steely gaze.

_Her eyes... they're just like mother's when she's angry,_ the girl named Louise whimpered in her thoughts.

"Come, Ms. Valliere. We're going see the headmaster," The woman stated, as she opened the door of the room, while Louise, too terrified to speak or refuse, just nodded meekly, before she followed the woman, walking in the direction of the office of Headmaster Osmond.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Inside of the office of Tristain Academy of Magic, three individuals, including old Osmond and two others were currently deep in discussion... at least two of them... about a very important matter.

Due to certain events which transpired the day before, the old Headmaster did not manage to get a single wink of sleep. Technically, due to his age, he was a light sleeper, but even then, he normally managed to have at least four sleep's every night.

And the reason behind it, was because one of the students had been abducted. To make matters worse, said student, despite the fact that she was lacking when it comes to magical prowess, happened to be the daughter of a frighteningly powerful and influential noble, one who not only had enough influence to have him executed, but was also personally a devastatingly powerful mage that few can match.

Which was why as of present, the old Headmaster could not help but feel confused. In fact, due to the shock he felt, he almost ended up dropping the very expensive crystal ball that he was holding in his hands at the time in an attempt to search for the kidnapped girl who apparently, was not kidnapped at all.

For the girl, Louise Valliere, who was supposed to have been abducted, was currently standing in front of his desk, and along with her, was the girl who, according to Colbert's (who was currently out in the city along with the other teachers searching for the 'lost girl') descriptions, was the one which the Valliere summoned to be her familiar.

At least, that was what he thought, until said girl explained the circumstances of what happened from her point of view.

"So what you mean to tell me, is that Ms. Valliere here summoned _your_ familiar?" Old Osmond inquired.

"That is correct, Headmaster. I tried to stop it, but due to my fear of losing my companion, instead of cancelling the 'Summon Servant,' I foolishly tried to hold on to Raiga, and also ended up getting sucked into the summoning portal, which resulted in me arriving here at your Academy." The girl with steel grey eyes replied, as she gently caressed the black crow that was currently perched on her shoulders.

Upon hearing these words, Osmond was surprised. _She knows how to cancel 'Summon Servant?'_

However, he knew that this was not time for him to be asking such questions about the matter, and instead decided to leave it for later discussion.

"Well, this is most unexpected," the old Headmaster muttered. "Never before have I heard of a mage's familiar being summoned by another mage. However, I see no reason for you to attack one of my st..."

"Pardon me for interrupting, Headmaster, but the student you are referring to tried to bind a fellow human being, a fellow mage as a familiar. What I did was legitimate self defense."

At this the pink-haired maged in question fidgeted guiltily.

"But..."

"It was already bad enough that her actions whisked me away from my travels. I could forgive her for summoning me, and even trying to take my familiar, since it was mostly by accident, but the fact that she tried to turn me into her slave, with every intention of doing it I might add, is something I cannot allow to pass unpunished."

"Still, please do take into consideration that she had no ide..."

"And before I forget, I would also like to file my complaint against the teacher who was in charge of that class. I do not hold anything against him personally, but the fact that he would have allowed the ceremony to continue without even consulting the other party first is downright irresponsible. Not only that, he even discreetly tried to cast a spell one me!"

_She felt Detect Magic being cast on her?!_ The old Headmaster thought in surprise, since that particular spell, due to its harmless nature, could not be detected by most mages. _But according to the results..._

"He probably thought I was just a commoner, but as you can see, I am a full-fledged mage." At this the papers on Old Osmond's desk started sliding off the table, as a gentle gust of wind started surrounding the girl, as if to prove her point.

_For Detect Magic to yield a negative result... this girl must've blocked it somehow,_ thought the old Headmaster to himself.

"Oh, and if you're planning to accuse me of attacking your other students, Headmaster, I would advise you to check them for injuries. I apologize for that incident, but Raiga here was only trying to defend me. My familiar is highly intelligent after all. It sensed that its Master was in danger so it only acted accordingly."

The familiar in question trilled in delight at its Master's praise.

Old Osmond was in shock. Never in all his life, did he think that he would be beaten in an argument by the young girl in front of him, noble though she was, not when he has managed to out argue and outmanoeuvre even generals and members of the royalty. Every time he looked for an opening, the girl would effectively block him, giving no leeway. It might be because she had the advantage in the situation, seeing as she was the one on whom the offense was committed against but still, it was quite impressive.

He wanted to argue, but there was nothing he could do. According to the general rule when there is a dispute between two nobles, the one who struck first, be it intentional or unintentional, would be the one judged as guilty, as was the case between her and Louise Valliere. In fact, Old Osmond was sure that in this matter, Karin, Louise's mother, who was a strict individual who valued honor, would not take her daughter's side. Abduction could not be proven either, since the girl who was supposedly kidnapped had been in the Academy all the time, and in fact was actually in her room, the last place where anyone would look for her. And since the Valliere girl herself confirmed it with a nod when Osmond asked her earlier, he knew that it was unlikely for her to testify, not with the guilty feeling she had of assaulting a fellow noble.

_A clever ruse._

And as for the assault she launched on the students, it could not even be considered an assault. For according to the girl, her familiar was a faux Corneille, an illusion crow, and while it was the first time Osmond heard of such a creature, the account of events given to him by Colbert matched. The students were swarmed by numerous black birds, yet none of them were injured by them. In fact, the injuries which the students sustained were from the spells they themselves cast, as well as trampling on each other's foot.

Louise Valliere was the first one to strike, unprovoked. And since she was a student of Tristain Magical Academy, not to mention that it happened during one of the activities of said school, along with other details which include the irresponsible actions of the teacher, the old Headmaster knew that if a case was filed, win or lose, it would have a negative effect on the school's reputation. Of course, the Valliere's girl testimony would have some credit, but from the way that the usually proud, boisterous and loud mouthed girl had been keeping quiet, he knew it would be difficult, since the girl herself seemed to understand what she had done. And even then, even if she agreed and they win, Osmond could not help but feel that taking an offensive stance would be a grave mistake. _I must settle this as subtly as possible._

"I understand that you have grievances because of what happened, and I, as the Headmaster of Tristain Academy of Magic, would like to apologize in behalf of the actions of my staff and my students. You have every right to pursue a case against us, but I hope we can settle this without having too many people involved, Ms-?"

"Emiya, Sakura Pendragon Emiya," the girl replied with a smirk. "And before you get any ideas, I won't be telling you anything else. Of course, if I decide to pursue my case against you you will find out eventually."

_?!_

"But, since I'm feeling a bit forgiving at the moment, I will let this go without much of a fuss, provided that you, as well as Ms. Valliere here, agree to a few conditions."

"I understand, Ms. Emiya," the old Headmaster replied. "So long as they reasonable and within the scope of our abilities I am willing to accept your terms. And you, Ms. Valliere?"

At this, the third daughter of the Valliere, who had been silent throughout the entire conversation merely nodded in response.

In all the time they were conversing, the girl had not once raised her voice, and it remained as calm as still water, and yet... there was just that feeling, that instinctive feeling Old Osmond could not shake off, that he was facing someone who is best not trifled with. The fact alone that the girl was able to hide her magic, since according to Colbert, he had cast Detect Magic on the girl yet it yielded no results, was already worrisome enough. And now that he had faced her, Osmond now knew what it was that made the square fire mage feel uneasy.

_Colbert is right. This girl is not someone to be taken lightly._

Still, based from the gut feeling that he had, the old headmaster knew that he had made the right decision. Given who the student's mother was, it was likely that there would still be trouble in the future, but for now, he had at least delayed, if not averted, the disaster, and he now had more time to prepare for it.

However, aside from the danger that his instincts told him, as well the stress he felt from all the problems piling up upon him, there was something which else which was now bothering the old headmaster, although only slightly.

_Her middle name is Pendragon... hmmm, it sounds familiar... where have I heard that name before?_ The old headmaster asked in his thoughts, although he forgot about it soon after, as the three of them started discussing the terms and conditions of their agreement.

**xxxXXXxxx**

_Well, that went better than expected._

The library of Tristain Magical Academy is one that is rarely used by students. The fact that all mages who attend the school come from noble families mean that they have more or less a plentiful supply of magic books for their use and utilization, which of course include the standard textbooks of the school. Of course, there are times when it is used, but due to the common availability of the books that are usually used, it is seldom visited.

To a mage who is unfamiliar with magic, however, the library was just like an information center, a place which house vast amounts of significant knowledge. And if said mage happened to be someone who liked reading books doing research, the library was indeed something like a sanctuary.

Thus this was how a certain mage, who went by name Emiya Sakura, viewed the library of Tristain Academy of Magic. Due to her unique circumstances, the library, as of present was the most important place in the world for her.

Sakura, in all honesty, being an Executor of the Burial Agency, was used to several life threatening situations, many of which were fights against fellow magi. However, even for someone like her, the situation she was in was a first.

Being the daughter of a magus, Sakura naturally was quite knowledgeable when it comes to magic. Well, technically, her father, even though he was formidable in battle, was not really that great of a mage, but since he was good friends with several magi, the young Executor, when she was younger, already had access to archives of information related to magecraft. In fact, three of her Aunts were even rooted to the pinnacles of magecraft, her Auntie Sakura and Auntie Ilya who were connected to the Third Magic while her Aunt Rin was connected to the Second Magic.

And thus, what happened to her, as far as the Executor could tell, was probably something related to the Second Magic, which is about crossing dimensions, and that it was possible that a certain Dead Apostle Ancestor who is a master at using this magic is usually blamed (with good reason) for anything untoward or foolish that happens to someone related to it. Kishua Zelretch, after all, was someone who, according to Rin, took amusement in watching people in different dimensions mess up their lives, and he would occasionally add something to the chaos, usually by making minor changes which, due to the butterfly effect, usually creates large differences eventually.

However, Sakura knew that whatever happened to her probably had nothing to do with the old vampire.

The'Summon Servant Spell'. According to descriptions of the spell from the book which she had read the previous night, a book which belonged to the pinkette, it functions in a way similar to the Servant Summoning of the Holy Grail War. The main difference, however, is that while the summoning of Servants for Heaven's Feel call upon a copy of a Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes, the 'Summon Servant' spell did not have a particular place as a target, and it was assumed that it would target any creature or animal that exists in the continent of Halkegenia. Yet somehow, that particular spell managed to reach out to a different realm, a different dimension.

And it was due of this fact that Sakura, despite being able to control herself and maintain her composure, was actually feeling distraught and confused. Why, of all things, would such a spell cast end up reaching out to her? The young Executor already had a vague suspicion as to why it appeared before her, yet as of the moment, she was not yet certain, although she can already see pieces of the puzzle.

Being a magus herself, Sakura knew that it was risky to try a different branch of magecraft without studying it thoroughly. For some reason she could not understand, however, even though it was the first time she had read it, the spells which she had read somehow felt familiar. But the weirdest part however...

...was the fact that she could read the books in the first place...

When she had first woken up in the hospital that day, when she was adopted by her parents, Sakura, admittedly, could not understand Japanese. She learned it quickly enough, but during the first few days of her stay in the Emiya household, she could not understand a word they were saying, and the only people she could talk to were her mother and her Auntie Rin, who knew how to speak French, yet for some reason, the written form of the language was different from the one she knew. Sakura may have been able to speak the language, yet for some reason, when they brought her books to read, she could not understand them, since the alphabet used and the verbal form seemed different.

In fact, due to the fact that she found no books in the world that were written in that fashion, Sakura, despite being a magus, with knowledge of how her parents had first found her, had nearly come to think of it as something fictional, that perhaps it may have come to her mind as a cause of the trauma of whatever happened to her.

Now, however, all the books she had read were written in that supposedly fictional language. And aside from that, even though it was supposed to be the first time she had read them, many of the text she had encountered, ranging from magic spells to the simple written history of the place, felt oddly familiar.

To fall into a different world, it was something which Sakura, despite being well acquainted to magic, which she never expected to happen to her. And yet, to fall into a different world where there were things that seemed too eerily familiar, was something which she expected to happen even less.

Being an Executor, as well as the current Magus Killer, the young member of the 8th Sacrament knew that she had to find a way back as soon as possible. She was, after all, someone who had chosen to live the life of a hero, of someone who saves others.

But even more important than that, Sakura knew that by now, her loved ones are probably worried sick about her. It will take some time before she could find a way back, that much she knew, but if there was a spell that could summon her to another world, then there is without a doubt, a way to reverse it, a way to send her back. However, even though she was upset with her situation, even though she was not happy with what happened to her, there was a part of her that was nagging at the Executor that was telling her that what happened to her was an chance, an opportunity to find out more about herself...

...to find out more about her past...

Sakura, in all honesty, had already moved on from it, from the fact that no matter how hard she tried, she could not find anything that could make a connection.

_I want to know more about myself. I want to know where I came from. I know who I am, but still, I want to know who I was before I met them. I need to know. I want to know. _

Yet now, finding herself in a world that seems to have a connection to her past, that small desire which she thought she had let go of, yet in reality, had simply buried deep in her heart, had now resurfaced.

Having managed to strike a deal with the Headmaster of the magic school she landed in, the young Executor now had access to plenty of information. It was a gamble, she knew, but the information she had acquired overnight by reading the notes of the Valliere girl had been sufficient, for the girl turned out to be quite a diligent student, and thus the young Executor managed to acquire enough information on the culture of the world she was in, enough for her to make a strong enough argument and call a bluff effectively. After all, mages were nobles in the world she was in, and since she could do magic, she was definitely considered a noble. Also, even though she did abduct the girl, it was rendered irrelevant, since no criminal was likely to come knocking on the front doors of authorities.

Her efforts paid off, and now, not only was she given the permission to access the library archives, she now had a room of her own, and Sakura was now officially a student of Tristain Academy of Magic. She would still have to pass the tests the teachers set of course, but after explaining to Osmond that she was a traveler and therefore could have forgotten some of the things she had learned, she was given two weeks, which in this world, due to each week having eight days, was equivalent to sixteen days, to refresh herself and review, or so Osmond thought. In reality, Sakura was just starting to learn, but with the amount of time she was given, as well as the fact that the information seemed quite familiar, she was sure she would acquire enough skills and knowledge on the craft of the present world she was in in time for her to be able to pass. One of the things she was most eager to learn about of course, is flying, knowing just how useful it would be in battle.

Speaking of the Valliere girl, however, Sakura had to admit that she had taken an interest in the pink-haired female.

The young Executor, in all honesty, did not like the attitude of the girl, nor did she like the culture of the mage population of the world she was presently in, which she had to admit, was just as bad or even worse than the world she lived in. Just like in the world she came from, mages were still arrogant buffoons who did not care about the well-being of others. Still, at least in the world where she came from, the magi were working in secrecy, and avoided direct confrontation with the normal people. In the world she was presently in, however, the mages were the ruling class. Sakura may still not have enough information, but based from what she had read, as well as the few observations she had made with the interaction between the work force and the students of the school, it was apparent that the mages were abusive and oppressed the commoners, those who could not do magic.

And yet even though that was the case, for some reason, despite all that the pink-haired girl, a typical mage of Halkegenia, had done to her, Sakura just could not find it in her heart to hate to her. Perhaps it was because she looked just like the girl in her memory, or because she could see a bit of herself in the Valliere? But regardless of the reason, the young Executor could not help but feel a strong emotional connection to her.

_She looks just like her. They might not be the same person, but with the resemblance they have, it is likely that they are related. Perhaps the girl I remember is a relative. Her mother? Perhaps her sister? We might even be related._

She knew that her motive was selfish, yet it did not matter. After all, even though she was now an Executor, as well as the Third Magus Killer, even though she can be ruthless and cold hearted when she needed to be, killing and slaughtering everyone else for the sake of saving more people than she killed, there was one rule, one Golden Rule, which her parents had taught her, a rule which she swore never to break. And that rule is...

_Always follow your heart, for it will tell you what you should do next._ Sakura recalled the words that were spoken to her by her father and her mother, and while it was true that the man laughed it off by saying it was a cliché statement he got from watching a drama series, Sakura knew he was serious, and thus she had taken the words to heart.

**xxxXXXxxx**

The Familiar Summoning Ritual. It is one of the critical trials of Tristain Academy of Magic, in which a student mage is required to use a spell to summon, then bind a familiar, one which supposedly defines the caster's element and would serve to be the summoner's partner until the end of their life. Being a critical examination, anyone who fails casting this spell, even if they happened to be the top student of the school who can cast square class spells, they will be dismissed and will be sent home packing. Of course, logically speaking, such a tragedy would never happen to a proper mage.

To a mage who has zero success rate on all the spells she had cast in her life, failing to summon a familiar would not be a surprising result and contrary enough, it was surprising if she succeeded.

And indeed, Louise Valliere failed. And just like most of her spells, even the 'Summon Servant' spell ended up in an explosion, although in a different sense.

Technically, when it comes to casting the spell, Louise succeeded. However, as if ill luck would have it, it was still a spectacular failure. Instead of summoning her own familiar like the spell was supposed to do, she summoned someone else's familiar. To make matters worse, that particular someone ended up getting caught in the mess that was created by the 'Zero.'

'Louise the Zero.' Even though Louise hated that nickname, she knew that she deserved. Zero luck. Zero talent at magic. Zero at just about everything.

She knew she was at fault. She knew she was to blame for everything, and that she was likely to be expelled for her actions. No, not just expelled. Because of her actions against a fellow noble, the pink-haired girl actually expected to be imprisoned, and even have her title as a noble stripped from her as a result. And yet...

None of those things happened. She was not punished, nor was she made to pay for her crimes, despite everything she had done.

Because the person on whom she had committed those transgressions against, did not pursue her complaint.

But that was not all. When the girl, who introduced herself as Sakura, told the Headmaster that there were conditions that she wanted to be met, Louise thought that the girl would take full advantage of it. Of course, seeing as she was at fault, Louise could not blame her if she asked for compensation from her... something which she did not do.

Louise insulted her and called her a commoner. She tried to steal her familiar, even if it was by accident, and she had greatly inconvenienced that person by summoning her from wherever she was. But worst of all, she tried to bind her as a familiar, like some animal, all because she thought the girl was a plebeian. But despite what she had done...

Louise knew that she deserved the worst, that she deserved her hatred, yet instead of hating her, instead of making her life miserable for what she had done, the girl with silvery-pink hair had been kind to her. The girl was without a doubt, a proper mage, one who surpassed Louise in every single way, and in fact, the pinkette had to admit that she could be quite intimidating. And yet, after all she had done, the girl forgave Louise. And not only did she forgive her...

...she even allowed Louise to keep her familiar.

A Faux Corneille, or an Illusion Crow, is a rare creature that has never been seen before in Halkegenia. The fact that Louise had not read anything about it, as well as the Headmaster's reaction was proof. And yet, the girl allowed Louise to keep the bird.

_..._

"_As long as you do not bind her, and treat her as a friend, not a pet, I will allow Raiga to go with you. He seems to like you, so I hope you don't do anything to break his trust."_

_..._

Yes, it was a disadvantage on her part that Louise was not allowed to form a contract with the crow. However, the Headmaster allowed the compromise, and she was allowed to stay in school, even though she failed the Familiar Summoning Ritual, and it was all because the girl, the girl on whom Louise had done wrong, defended her, even after all Louise had done to her. Thus, everything had been settled nicely. Louise was not expelled, and she now had a familiar. Still, even though everything seemed to be going well, there was one question, which was whirling in the mind of the pink-haired female, one which she did not know the answer to.

"Why?" Louise whispered to herself, as she headed down for the Alviss Dining Hall for her dinner, gently brushing the feathers of the black crow that was currently perched comfortably on her shoulders.

When they finished the conversation with the Headmaster, in which all Louise did was nod or remained silent, the girl Sakura immediately rushed off, and thus Louise lost the opportunity to talk to her.

As of present, Louise, in all honesty, after all that had happened, did not have any appetite. However, even though there was no class for that day, even though she was still feeling weary, she forced herself up from her bed and headed for the dining hall, where Louise hoped to find her, to get the answer to the question that had been bothering her all day, but more importantly, to be able to apologize to her, as well as thank her properly, all at the same ti...

"My, my, why if it isn't Louise the Zero."

All of the thoughts Louise had been thinking about, however, were sent to a corner of her mind, when she heard a familiar voice speak... a familiar, unwelcome voice.

"What do you want, Zerbst?" Louise asked irritably, as she glared at a tall, tanned, red-haired female with a large cleavage, a body any man would desire, and who was wearing a malicious smirk on her face.

**xxxXXXxxx**

**To be continued...**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Alright, another chapter out. Yeah, I've got to admit it took me a while with this chapter, since I was trying to think of the best way to build the plot. Well, I'm not really expecting much, but I hope it's good enough so I can at least keep people interested enough. I'm writing only for fun, that it true, but positive reactions always make me happy. Criticisms, of course, are also welcome, since they are a big help to me as a writer.

Now, some people are discussing about Sakura's Reality Marble. Well, yes, she has a Reality Marble. However, it is not Unlimited Blade Works, yet in a way, it is also Unlimited Blade Works. That will be a surprise for later, but knowing her true origin and element 'Void' (Since I bet most of you know who 'Sakura' actually is I could mention it here.) , some of you might be able to guess its nature. I don't have a name for her Reality Marble yet, but that will come eventually once she manifests it, or rather, use it to manifest a Reality Marble... whoops. I better stop here, I'm already giving too much away.

Yeah, there are plenty of ideas that are coming into my head for this story, and while some scenes might follow canon, most of it will eventually divert from canon.

But enough about that...

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then people...


	4. Chapter 3

**Note: **I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Familiar of Zero, and am only writing this story purely for entertainment purpose only.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Worry. That was the emotion which a certain silver haired man with tanned skinned was feeling at the moment, the pain from his bleeding fists that was caused by continuously punching a nearby wall without Reinforcing them was nothing compared to the dread that he felt in his heart.

Two days. It had been two days since he and his wife had last heard from his daughter. Normally, for people, two days is not such a long time. However, they had an agreement. In exchange for allowing her to continue her profession, she was required to contact her family at least once a day. It was not because her parents were using it as a method of restricting her however. No, the real reason behind this agreement was because her father, admittedly was a worrywart. Thus, when she failed to comply with this agreement, her father immediately moved into action, and checked up on her, only to find that she disappeared during one of her missions.

His daughter was missing, and that fact made the man worried sick. He knew very well, that the career his daughter decided to take was a dangerous one, but while he did allow her to follow it, even though it had already been a couple of years since then, he had still been mulling in his thoughts as to whether or not he had made the right decision. Still, given that it was the exact same path he was taking that his daughter followed, the man knew that he had no one to blame but himself, for setting such an example.

Being a hero of justice, being someone who tried to save as many people as possible, was the path which his daughter decided to take. It was a path that was full of pain and hardships, yet it was one which followed an ideal . However, even that ideal was flawed, and thus, the path he was following, which was also being tread by his daughter, has diverted, from one of an impartial hero, to one who prioritized the safety of his loved ones before everyone else's... a task which the man realized he was faring poorly at.

And now, as he continued waiting at an airport in France, where his wife and son would soon be arriving on board a plane, along with a few others, the man known as Emiya Shirou could not help feel that this was nature's way of making him pay for his sins. He is a man who wished to save as many people as he can, after all, yet to pursue his path, he had been constantly putting himself in danger and making the people who care for him worry... And now, with his daughter having the exact same tendencies he possessed, he now knew exactly how they felt, having been placed in the exact same position.

But then, Emiya Shirou was someone who was accustomed to pain, physically, emotionally and spiritually, and thus, to him, it was of no consequence. It did not matter to him how much he had to endure and suffer, for the only thing he cared about, was the safety and wellbeing of his loved ones, the safety and wellbeing of his daughter.

**xxxXXXxxx**

_There are two moons in this world. But then, if that's the case, then why does the gravity feel exactly the same as it is on Earth?_

Inside of her room in Tristain Academy of Magic, a girl with silvery pink hair who is a member of the Burial Agency was currently deep in thought about a great many things, munching on a piece of bread as she continued reading one of the ten books which she got out from the library.

Had she had the choice, Sakura would have probably borrowed more than that number, and in fact, instead of borrowing, she would have probably opted to stay in the library and perhaps even sleep there. Unfortunately, the library closes at six in the evening, and ten was the maximum number of books that anyone, student or faculty, were allowed to take from the library at a time. She knew of course, that she could try to sneak in, but since she was trying to keep out of trouble, even if it was possible for her, the young Executor thought that it would be best to keep as low as profile as possible.

Her previous actions like attacking her summoner, although she was technically to blame for everything by summoning her in the first place even by accident, and barging into the Headmaster's office to strike a bargain with falsified information with some half-truth were contradictory to the small goal she hoped to succeed, but those were different, since they had been necessary for her to establish her position. She did not exactly like it, but being an Executor, she too, was used to a little bit of politics and handling people.

Naturally, Sakura tried to persuade the one in charge of the library to let her borrow more. But no matter how hard she tried, the librarian, who was a strict, disciplined woman who seemed to be in her fifties, just like the typical librarian, simply would not budge... at least not for the time being. Knowing the importance of information, Sakura decided that it would be for the best to try and befriend Madam Madeleine, the old librarian.

Still, in the few hours that she had spent reading, Sakura had already acquired a large amount of information. Normally, for any person, even for a magus, memorizing things is a most tedious and difficult tasks. They would work day and night, spending countless hours just to memorize spells and arias. For someone with a photographic memory like Sakura, however, memorization was a piece of cake. Not only that, but with the aid of a camera, the job had become much simpler.

Just like her grandfather, Emiya Sakura was not your typical magus. Unlike most magi, who stick to traditions and frown upon modern technology, Sakura was someone who was comfortable with both, and opted to combine the two to great effect. She might not favour guns and other modern day weapons and artillery, but she does find modern means of communication and gathering intel quite useful and convenient.

And fortunately for her, even though she had left most of her clothes and things back at the hotel room in Paris she was renting, it had always been her habit to bring along most of her valuables, which include her notebook pc, her camera and also her cellular phone, special versions which , due to Sakura's ingenuity, she modified herself, and could now be powered by magecraft. Due to pride and tradition, most magi did not like using modern day technology, although in Sakura's circle of loved ones and comrades, only one refused to use a magic-powered cellular phone. Her father has one, her mother has one, her younger brother owns one, the best version which the young female Executor gave him for his birthday, even her Aunt Ilya and Aunt Sakura, as well as many of her fellow Executors acquired one.

Of course, the person who refused to use it was none other than her Auntie Rin, although that was probably because she seemed to be naturally incompatible with certain electronic devices, even magic-enhanced ones, since she seemed to be fine using other modern techs, and she personally seemed to enjoy their benefits as long as someone was there to assist her in using them, for whenever she uses something like, say a computer without supervision, it was likely to end in disaster for said computer, or even the room where said computer could be found.

The prana-electricity powered cellular phone... the fact that it had no signal, even if the world did not have two moons, was enough proof for Sakura that she was not in her own world. Even when inside of an enemy's Bounded Field, with the exception of a Reality Marble, due to their unique frequency (or frequencies, since it was adjustable, and there is one which only Sakura and her closest family know about) , the special tool for communication the young Executor used would still function properly.

It did not really matter where the young Executor was in the world. So long as she had her cellphone with her, she could always talk to her parents or her younger brother, Ezra, whenever she wants.

_I haven't talked to them for two days now, have I?_ Sakura sighed in her thoughts. And I always call at least once a day... _They're probably already really worried. Worse, I'm not even sure if the time here moves in equilibrium with the time in my... no. I mustn't think that way. Think positive. Think positive! Stay optimistic._

Shaking the negative thoughts off her mind, Sakura finished her chicken porridge, which was now cold (since she liked to eat porridge, noodles, and soup cold rather than hot) in one gulp, before she continued reading the book on her desk.

The first thing Sakura looked for when she started her research, naturally, were maps, which she knew were available in books on science, history or geography. As she realized, however, science was not a subject in the school she was in, and although history was still taught, they were not easy to comprehend, as they were too focused on religion, that it almost made Sakura feel like reading a Bible. And not only the history books. Even the magic books included mentioning the Founder left and right quite a lot, making up around one fourth of the entire text. Still, she knew that by skimming through them she would find something that she could utilize. Her first priority though, was knowing acquiring basic knowledge about the continent she was in.

Halkegenia, a continent divided into five countries: Tristain, Albion, Gallia, Romalia and Germania. Each one of these countries have unique customs and culture, yet they share the same religion, as well as have the same national language. The country she was presently in, as she noted, was Tristain, the smallest of the five countries. To its South was Gallia, while to the west is Germania, the largest of the countries. South of Gallia was the country of Romalia while to its East was a land that was known as the Elven Lands, an area which the book describes as dangerous. Apparently, in the world she was currently in, Elves were magical creatures of great power, and it was said that was one was enough to match a thousand magi in battle.

And speaking of magical creatures, Sakura had to admit that she was intrigued by what she had seen. The day before, due to the urgency of the situation, the young Executor focused on the more important task, but in truth, she was actually surprised to see Phantasmal Beasts, creatures which she never expected she would hardly have thought she would get the chance to see, as in the world she was from, they lived in isolated places, places which cannot be reached by mankind.

Yet here, in the world where she was presently in, they appear to be quite common. True, as of the moment, she had only seen one dragon, but according to the book she had read, dragons were quite common, both in the wild, and as something like a domestic animal that are raised and bred like horses. And not only dragons. Griffins and manticores were also said to be common place, and in fact, she had actually seen two of each the day before when she had been dragged into the world she is currently in by the Familiar Summoning Spell.

And winged stallion... Sakura remembered her mother's story, of how she once fought one, a Phantasmal Beast from the Age of the Gods, which had been summoned by the Servant Rider of the Fifth Heaven's Feel. In Sakura's world, winged horses were supposed to be rare and even quite possibly extinct. Yet in the continent she was currently in, they were also common. The fact that she had seen carriages that were being pulled by four or six winged horses occasionally flying through the sky was solid proof.

The young Executor, in all honestly, did not know what to make of her discovery. Here she was, in a world with two moons, in a world where creatures which were thought to be either rare or only found in fairy tales, even by magus standards, were roaming around freely like common animals. A part of her was actually feeling worried, at the thought that such creatures, which were considered a rarity where she came from, could be found in great numbers in the world she was presently in. However, another part of her was actually feeling rather excited, at seeing and encountering such magical creatures, as well as at the prospect of taking some of the creatures with her once she found a way to return to Earth. It was risky, that much she knew, but having a dragon would indeed be something in her world, although as of the moment, she was still uncertain whether or not she should proceed with that plan, and she was still weighing the pros and cons.

Of course, she could not help but note that Elves were greatly feared and hated in the land she was in, although it may have something to do with the fact that said race, according to written history had been against Brimir, the one who the people of the land revered and called 'the Founder'. Supposedly, they were supposed to use some form of Ancient Magic, which the authors of the books biasedly described as evil magic that could not be understood by the human mages, whose system follows a different concept.

Willpower. According to the book which Sakura had read, willpower is what mages use in order for them to cast their spells. The details in itself were quite easy to understand, and Sakura, translating it to her own knowledge of magic, could compare willpower to od, or magical energy inside of a magus.

However, there were some key things missing. The book only ever mentioned about the use of Willpower and a focus, like a wand or staff. However, when she saw the students cast the day before, she could barely feel them using od, and in fact, from what she could tell, they were gathering prana, or magical energy from the surroundings, which, as she had observed, seemed to be the one which powered the spell, and not the energy from the mage himself.

_Hmmm... It seems the people of this land found a way to utilize the prana around them whilst using only a minimal amount of their innate magical energy. Given that their Willpower, or od supply seemed to be quite low due to them having dormant Magic Circuits, I suppose it should have been expected. Though I have to admit, to be able to use thirty units of prana in exchange for using one or two units of od is quite a feat._ The young Executor thought with a smile. _Learning this will be useful indeed._

And thus, Sakura continued reading, and flipped the book's page to the next one...

_?! _

Only for her to be interrupted, as a small black blur flew into her room, and said black blur was now pecking at her clothes, telling her to follow it.

Due to the circumstances of what happened to her, as well as her subtle manipulations, Sakura, in reality, had every right to seek retribution on the girl who had whisked her away from her home. And naturally, the girl was in no position to demand anything, and the young Executor did not have any obligation towards her. However, even though this was the case, Sakura had been not only civilised, but also partial towards the girl, and not only did she not pursue any kind of retribution, she also helped out the girl by sparing her from expulsion, by giving her, or rather, sharing with her her own familiar.

Technically however, she did not give it to her, since the bird itself had taken a liking to the Valliere girl as well, and was as comfortable with her as it was with Sakura, her parents, her brother and all of the people she considered her friends and family. In fact, despite the strange feeling of familiarity Sakura had with the girl, sharing her crow would not have crossed her mind had it not been for the fact that said crow had openly shown a liking for the pinkette.

Raiga, Sakura's crow, was indeed a familiar. However, unlike the familiars of the other mages in Halkegenia, which they had summoned, Raiga was a familiar which Sakura herself had made from her own magical energy, though for some reason that could not be explained completely even by the laws of magecraft, probably because she missed the person with the same name (namely the old man who the young Executor saw like her own grandfather who died five years before due to illness and old age) this particular familiar, unlike the other temporary ones she made, had literally come to life, and had been her partner for five years, one which surprisingly developed unique abilities of its own that go hand in hand with her Sacraments, as well as a mind of its own. It mostly followed orders like any familiar, yet it has the ability to feel human-like emotions, emotions which it can share with Sakura through its mental link.

It may not have the ability to speak the human language, but the young Executor could tell exactly what it was thinking. And right now, Raiga was furious, and was asking, no...demanding, from Sakura through their mental link, permission to use its powers.

Of course, Sakura immediately denied the request, since she knew it would cause problems for her, as well as for the girl if she allowed it.

_It seems like my troubles have just begun,_ the young Executor sighed in her thoughts, as she jumped out of the window of her room, following her familiar towards whatever direction it was taking her.

It was true that Sakura, due to her fast progress in her education, did not really attend school much, at least officially. However, some her missions as an Executor involved her infiltrating schools posing as a student, and thus she did have some knowledge about high school life, and while she never understood why students were always complaining about exams, she did learn that it was fun to have friends, and despite her line of work, even though she made plenty of enemies, she also made a lot of friends.

Something which the Valliere girl did not seem to have. Apparently, probably because of the fact that the girl was, as far as the information Sakura picked up went, performing poorly as a mage, or because of her attitude, or more likely because of both, the young girl named Louise was being treated by her fellow schoolmates as an outcast, as an object of ridicule, which, when Sakura thought about it, may be the reason why the girl was the way she is in the first place.

True, Emiya Sakura did not yet know much about her, but if there was one thing which the young Executor did know, it was the fact that it isn't good to be alone . She may not have had the same experience as far as her memories went, but for some reason, even though she has friends and loved ones who she could turn to when she needed help, Sakura understood it, the pain of being alone and isolated, the hurt of having no one there to lean on when she needed it the most. The sadness, sorrow, and hate of being ridiculed and blamed for something that was beyond one's control. Just because someone is different. Just because someone seemed inferior.

Of course, in her missions, she had been in plenty of situations where she saw people commit much worse atrocities, but even then, even though the girl's predicament was minor compared to those, Sakura still decided to act, because of that one simple fact.

_Raiga seems to like her._

The young Executor's reasons for helping the pinkette, admittedly, was not simply out of the goodness of her heart, and in fact, there was something which she wanted from the girl. Sakura wanted knowledge, information. She wanted to know more about her past, and the young Executor could not help but feel that the girl who seemed so familiar might have the key of unlocking. It, but even then, it was not the sole reason why she was helping her, at least, not anymore.

It may have been the case at the start, but with the way her crow had shown interest in the girl, it only means that unlike Sakura's first impression of her, there was much more to the girl other than her appearance, and she was probably not a bad person, although she still found the bird's reaction rather peculiar. For aside from being Sakura's partner, Raiga also served as her sixth sense, and had only ever allowed people it trusted and saw as a comrade to touch it. In fact, this was the first time that the crow had automatically given to someone who was a complete stranger its trust without question, which Sakura must admit was strange, since even her Auntie Rin took one whole week to gain the bird's acceptance.

Whatever the case, Sakura, like she had always done when logic did not seem to apply, decided to follow her heart, and it was telling her that helping the girl named Louise was the right course of action.

The girl was alone, friendless, unable to gain the acceptance of the people around her, something which the young Executor simply could not ignore.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Gossip. It does not matter where you live, or what world you are in, so long as you are living in a society, gossip, rumours, and intrigue will always be part of the culture. It is somewhat like news, and could either be true or false, or, in most cases, a combination of both. Sometimes it starts out as the truth, at others the origin is false. But all of the time, whenever it is passed from one person to another, something is added, whereas something is removed.

Part of it could be set aside while another part could be blown out of proportion. There are even times when the original story, whether it be true or false, is completely replaced by something else altogether, and thus different versions of the news, which started from one, arise.

But the most amazing thing about gossip, even more than the changes it undergo, is the fact that it begins in the first place, as well as the incredible speed in which it spreads once it starts.

Still, gossip, in a way, is a form of entertainment, and almost everyone, especially the female population, enjoy it.

However, for the person who becomes the focus of gossip and intrigue, things are exactly the opposite.

And thus, Louise Valliere was having one of the most miserable evenings she has ever had in her time in school. For some reason or another, various rumours about what happened to her had spread like wildfire, rumours which told of nothing but ill of her.

_..._

"_I heard she stole another noble's familiar."_

"_What? Zero Louise did what?"_

"_Nah. My friend told me that she's only borrowing it."_

"_Wow. She must've paid a lot of money for it? Do you think what happened yesterday was just an act?"_

"_So she only pretended to get abducted? Well, I have to say though, that was quite the performance."_

"_And she's a Valliere. She's shaming her family name!"_

"_She's probably just adopted."_

"_But what about her pink hair?"_

"_Someone must've dyed or used magic on her hair on something. After all, we all know that Zero Louise cannot use magic."_

"_Yeah, she'd probably burn her own hair if she tried."_

"_Bald Zero, now I'd like to see that."_

"_If it's true that she summoned another noble's familiar though, she's definitely in hot water. I actually heard that she screwed up so much that the noble also ended up in the mess Zero made Do you think she's going to be expelled?"_

"_Who knows, but that's likely to happen."_

"_Maybe the Headmaster just gave her the option to leave gracefully so she can transfer to some third rate magic school without record problems, though I doubt she'll even pass there if she did."_

"_A Zero-free Tristain Academy of Magic? Now that would definitely be a dream come true."_

_..._

Had it been any other day, the young pink-haired mage would have probably been able to endure it. After all, she managed to take all the teasing and snide comments about her for over a year already, on a daily basis, and thus it had already become a part of the normal routine for her. She was a proud person, yet at the same time a collected individual, who is able to shrug off anything that her classmates would throw at her, and even actively retaliated verbally. No matter how many times she failed, she always kept her chin up high, never once allowing anyone to see any signs of weakness from her.

The truth, however, is that Louise is not strong. That may be the image she portrayed, but once she was alone, in the comfort and privacy of her own room, she would cry, hot tears flowing in streams from her scarlet brown eyes. She had once tried writing to her sister Cattleya, who had always been kind to her, about it, but instead of a reply from her sister, she got a reply from her mother, and it was anything but comforting. Thus, ever since that time, she had been truly alone, and the only witness to her misery were the four walls of her lonely little room.

And on this day, unlike before, things had been much worse. Thanks to the fact that the teachers had been out searching for her, there was no one to watch over the students, and as the saying goes, when the cat is away the mice will play, which they did, on their fellow mouse. Louise had always been able to avoid their torment, but now she had no defence, and there was no one to stop their taunts, with Kirche von Zerbst at the top of the list of her tormentors, since the lack of teachers was seen by her fellow students as a great opportunity to mock her loudly and openly.

Louise knew what course of action she should have taken. She should have just finished her meal quickly and quietly retreated to her room. Unfortunately, she had allowed her pride and arrogance to take over, and thus she challenged Margarita Montmorency to a duel, her anger and frustration clouding her better judgment. No... it was not pride and arrogance, but rather, sheer stupidity.

For the reason, the trigger, which caused her patience to snap, was not because people mocked and insulted her. No, it was because of something even more foolish.

She challenged the girl to a duel because she was bullying a maid.

_How could I have been so stupid?  
_

And indeed what she did was stupid. Having seen the entire thing, Louise knew full well that the maid was not at fault. Montmorency, due to her own carelessness, ended up spilling her own food all over her clothes. Unfortunately, it so happened that the maid was passing by, and thus, to save face, she pinned the blame on her.

Yes, the maid was innocent. However, even if that was the case, due to her status as a commoner, there was nothing the maid could do but apologize for a crime she did not commit. And it was at that point that Louise walked up to the water mage and slapped her in the face, along with her challenging her to a mage's duel.

Louise, in all honesty, did not know why she did it. Perhaps it was because of the stress of her most recent ordeals which made her unable to think rationally? Or maybe it was because Montmorency was at the top three of the list of people who verbally bashed her, up there at number two next only to Zerbst? Whatever the case, even if the maid had been innocent, the third daughter of the Valliere would have probably ignored the whole scene and treated it with disdain as she had always done before. The maid may be innocent, but she was just a plebeian, a commoner, and there was no point in getting herself involved. Even if she was not at fault, she was a low-class, a none-noble.

And yet, for some reason she could not understand, Louise felt the urge, the need, to defend the maid. True, she had been taught discipline and proper decorum by her mother, but she would normally never do something as absurd as challenge a fellow noble to a duel simply because of a slight abuse of her power on a plebeian. There was definitely something wrong with her.

But now, it was too late for her to regret it. As of present, Louise was currently kneeling helplessly on the grassy ground of the Vestri Courtyard, her wand located a few meters away from her, her hair, clothes, her entire body completely soaked, chilling the poor pink-haired mage to the bone. However, the physical discomfort was nothing compared to the humiliation she was suffering. She was beaten, badly, and did not even get the chance to fight back or cast a single spell, her opponent having made disarming her of wand as her first priority.

"Do you yield?" The girl with curly blonde stated, who was currently staring down at her with a cruel smirk on her lips, while the rest of the crowd cheered her on. "Didn't you hear me, Zero? Do you yield?!" The girl giggled in delight, as she continued splashing Louise with water, rubbing it on the girl's face just how useless she was.

"Monmon, I think that's enough," a blonde-haired boy muttered with a worried voice, as he put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "She may be worthless as a mage, but if her mother..."

"Her mother finding out is of no consequence," The girl replied with a snap, as she freed herself from the boy's hand, and mercilessly sent another jet of water at the pinkette who was panting on the ground, which made the crowd cheer once again. "Karin the Heavy Wind is someone who I admire and respect. She is a most formidable mage who struck fear in the hearts of her enemies, even my parents speak highly of her. It's a shame really, to think that one of the mages I admire had a pathetic creature for a daughter like this."

_?!_

"But..."

"And even if she does find out, I doubt her mother would side with her. Besides, she was the one who challenged me in the first place."

Whether she liked it or not, Louise knew deep down that every word her adversary said was true. She was useless. She was worthless. She was a prideful person, despite the fact that she never had anything to boast with in the first place. She was definitely pathetic.

Despite the situation she was in, the pinkette could not help but feel a little grateful at the fact that her face was completely wet. At least, that way, no one noticed that tears were already flowing from her eyes, as she gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Now, then, Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere, I will ask you one last time," Louise heard Montmercy addressing her, as she felt herself being forcefully lifted by coils of water that had wrapped around her. "Do you yield?"

"I..."

Knowing there was nothing else she could do, the third daughter of the Valliere decided to just admit defeat.

"...WILL NOT YIELD!"

"?!"

_?!_

As these words were uttered, the crowd that was watching could not help but gasp in surprise, as they saw that the water wrapped around its victim turned into ice, before shattering into a thousand pieces, effectively freeing the pinkette from her bindings.

None of them, however, were as shocked as the pinkette was, having recognized who the voice belonged to... a voice which, as Louise now realized, was rather similar to her own.

"Good evening, Ms. Valliere," the owner of the voice began, as a figure emerged from the shadows, a girl with silvery-pink hair and a pale complexion, who walked towards the center of the students, placing herself in between the duelling parties.

"You, who are you? How dare you int—" Montmorency tried to opened her mouth, her voice full of irritation, but had no choice but to close it before she could finish what she was saying, as she was forced to jump sidewards to avoid a ball of fire that was sent flying in her direction.

"I apologize for cutting off your little declaration, Ms. Valliere, " the girl who Louise knew by the name Sakura Emiya began, "but as your second, I cannot allow you to throw this fight... not when you're facing an opponent whose potential as a mage is much lower than yours."

**xxxXXXxxx**

**To be continued...**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Alright, another chapter out. Now, this chapter is pretty much one which gives a little bit of info and comparison on the magic of Halkegenia and Type-Moon Verse. Of course, every author in fanfic have their own ways of doing alternate universe magic comparison, so I also added ideas of my own.

Now, since some of you might feel that Sakura and Louise are being too nice to each other, I decided to post here a comparison between Sakura and Louise, and two people in a similar but different boat.

The connection between Sakura and Louise, while similar in a sense to the connection between a certain someone and a certain Counter-Guardian, is different. For starters, Sakura is at exactly the same age as Louise is in this fic. Also, while both of them have a similar affinity, their difference in experience, make them completely different people at the same time.

And speaking of elemental affinity, Sakura's void is similar, but not the same as Ryougi Shiki's void. In the Familiar of Zero world, it is called the Void element, but there is a difference. Sakura's Void, as well as the void element of the other Void users including Louise, could be called 'Blank,' instead of 'Void.' In other words, it is somehow like pure magical energy that does not signify any element.

Of course, it is for this very reason that Sakura can use Shirou's Projection, as well as Arturia's Wind-related skills, and since she is also close to Rin, she can also use two of her five elements, including fire but only to an extent.

I know some of you might wonder why Sakura has a Reality Marble similar to Unlimited Blade Works like I mentioned in the previous chapter. Don't worry, it will be explained as the chapters progress.

And speaking of Reality Marbles, if you're wondering if Louise has one, then the answer is no,. She does not have a Reality Marble, and that is due to the difference in experience between her and Sakura. Sakura had been through an ordeal (which will be revealed later) that caused her to develop one. Louise, however, did not.

Hmmm... well, I suppose that should just about be enough explanation for now. I better stop since I might reveal too much. Just to be clear though, Sakura's true element and true origin is the element 'Blank,' as I call it.

But enough about that...

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then, people...


	5. Chapter 4

**Note: **I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Familiar of Zero, and am only writing this story purely for entertainment purpose only.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"I apologize for cutting off your little declaration, Ms. Valliere, but as your second, I cannot allow you to throw this fight... especially not against an opponent whose potential is far lower compared to yours."

Mages. The crowd which was circling around a certain interesting event going on in the Vestri Courtyard in Tristain Academy of Magic was made up of mages. Stuck-up magi who wear their noble pride proudly on their chest, seeing themselves as superior over the non-magical, not only because being able to perform magic literally made them better than the commoners, but also because the ability to use magic, according to their religion, signify not only nobility, but a direct blessing from their Founder, at least by their interpretation, and thus it only boosted their ego even further.

An ego which was presently unable to rear its ugly head.

Due to the effect the previous day's events had on their school life, everyone in the audience, naturally knew about what happened during the second year class' Familiar Summoning Ritual... well, at least a version of it, the details affected by certain factors, which include who told the story, and how many mouths it had been passed through previously. In this case, however, most of the stories, with slight alterations, match. Normally, since it involved Louise the Zero, it would not have really piqued much interest. After all, her consistent failure at casting magic had become so cliché that stories about it, had already lost its flare, except for the most devoted bullies and ridiculers, most of whom were classmates of the Zero. What happened the day before, however, was different, for the series of events, despite involving the Zero, was interesting indeed.

According to the general gist of the rumours, Louise the Zero, like always, failed in casting a simple spell, and this time, the spell she screwed up was the critical 'Summon Servant' spell. Instead of her simply failing making the spell work or creating an explosion, however, something else happened. Louise the Zero, technically, actually managed to summon something... or someone... and that someone...

Was the person who suddenly appeared in their midst, the one who interrupted the tort- duel, between Margarita Montmercy the Fragrance and Louise the Zero.

At first, they thought that Zero actually outdid herself in an epic failure that only the teacher saw as a success. Summoning a commoner after all, was considered by many, due to it involving the Zero, as the worst thing that could happen. They believed that the fact that the Valliere girl summoned a plebeian means that her elemental affinity must be compatible with a plebeian, implying that she was without a doubt, a failure.

Many of them believed this was the pinnacle, the final nail in the coffin proving that Louise Valliere was worthless as a mage. A few moments later, however, when the Zero tried to bind the commoner as her familiar, they realized just how wrong they were. Louise was not just a failure as a mage. She was also probably among those with the worst luck in the continent of Halkagenia.

The rest of the day had gone by in a whirlwind of madness. Due to the fact that they had been attacked, most of the second years had naturally been upset, although they were more confused than upset. Several versions and accounts of what happened arose, and the news that the third daughter of the Valliere had been abducted spread throughout the school like wildfire, though of course it was later proven to be false.

Just like what happens with most gossip, no one could tell anymore exactly how it started, or where it originated from. However, the moment that Osmond announced that Louise's Valliere abduction was a false alarm, several variations about that particular piece of information, as expected sprouted. Some believed that everything had just been a show. Others believed that the Valliere was screwed, as according to some rumours, she tried to steal another noble's familiar. However, in all these rumours, there was one thing they had in common, one detail that none of them could deny.

Whether she had been summoned or not, or simply hired by the Louise the Zero, there was no doubt about it, especially in the minds of those who had seen what happened.

The girl, who Louise Valliere either hired or summoned, was without a doubt...

...a mage, a noble, just like the rest of them.

They may be proud and arrogant because of the culture they were raised in, but each and every one of the students had been taught to respect their fellow nobles. They may look down on those who can't use magic, but they would treat any fellow mage who could at the very least cast magic properly, as an equal.

The mage in front of their eyes, however, as they now know full well, could not possibly be just a regular mage.

Wands and staves were always needed by mages for them to be able to perform magic. Except for a few people who have reached a high level of mastery, everybody else needed a focus for them to be able to cast their spells. A focus which the girl with silver-pink hair did not seem to require.

The day before, the second year students had already seen her perform wandless magic, when she knocked out the Valliere girl with a Wind Spell. Now, however, the rest of the students had seen perform that feat again, only this time, she seemed to have cast Fire Ball, a Fire Spell.

"Wandless magic?"

"No way."

"She used wind yesterday and now she used a fire spell? She has to be a line mage at least."

"Yeah right. But didn't you see it? She didn't even use a wand! No line level mage could pull off something like that."

Thus, the attention everyone shifted, from the Velliere girl who they saw as an outcast, as someone unworthy to be considered as one of their number, to the girl who suddenly appeared in their midst, one who was without a doubt a proper mage.

"What did you say?"

And she seemed to have specially gotten the attention of a certain line class water mage with braided blonde hair. Still, given what she stated, it was no surprise that said water mage was infuriated with her words.

Instinct. It is the natural ability of most living beings to assess the situations they are in, one which does not require thinking, as the person will act accordingly on reflex. However, even instinct can be defeated by a thought or concept that had been installed into a person's mind. Thus, if they believed that one of the of the two individuals was a mere commoner, even if their instinct was given them a warning, most of them, save for a few who trust their gut feeling, would probably shrug it off as nothing, as they would foolishly believe more in their noble pride. However, the people involved in the conflict were fellow nobles, their equals.

And now, the instinct of those who were witnessing what was happening in the middle of Vestri Court, one which told them that things were about to take a turn for the worse. With their danger senses tingling at the hostility that was coming from the individuals in their midst, the students encircling the area decided to take a few steps backward, far enough to be out of immediate range, but near enough to be able to witness what was going on, and what was to come.

After all, even though they are in a school of magic, it was rare for something interesting to happen in Tristain Academy of Magic, and for better or for ill, they certainly do not want to miss it.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Margarita Le Fere De Montmorency, known as Monmon to her closest friends, was just like any typical noble, who wore her pride on her chest. However, just like any other noble, it has always instilled in her to respect those who are either equal or who are superior to her. But aside from being a noble, she was also just like any person, who wanted to be accepted, to feel a sense of belonging, one which she had managed to gain among her peers and classmates, who did not treat her any differently from the rest of the flock.

However, Monmon, just like any typical noble, considered those who could not perform magic as low-class and beneath her. In the society they were in after all, it was no wonder that she thought that way. Still, even though this was the case, even she would never hurt or attack a commoner unless there was a good reason to, and just a few minutes prior, such a reason arose. After all, commoners were nothing tools to be used by nobles, and one of their functions is as a escape goat, a blame toy. Thus, there was nothing wrong with blaming a poor maid for a noble's own mistakes and carelessness, like spilling food on her own clothes, to save face. It was just a part of everyday life.

Which was why she could not help but feel surprised when all of a sudden, one of her classmates actually dared to slap her on the face when there was nothing wrong with what she had done, and it was Louise Valliere of all people.

Montmorency of course knew that the girl was a failure at casting spells, having borne witness to it on an almost daily basis, which had thus earned her the nickname Louise the Zero. However, even if that was the case, Montmorency actually believed, though she never stated it out loud, that the supposed failure as a mage may not be a complete failure. The Valliere girl's spell might always end up in smoke, but out of all the people in the Academy, the line class water mage had to admit that she had never seen anyone with so much Willpower before, for Montmorency, unknown to anyone but her parents, could actually measure a person's Willpower simply by touching them, and Louise Valliere's Willpower was actually the highest one around among the students, and it was even higher than her father's who is a square class water mage.

Montmorency might be fond of mocking the Valliere girl like anyone else, but it was less because she thought she was a failure than the fact that she was jealous of the amount of sheer magic power she possessed.

Nevertheless, even sheer magic power is utterly useless if the one who possessed it could not use it properly. Of course, Montmorency did not really care about the reasons as to how it happened. All she knew is that it was the perfect opportunity for her to utterly humiliate Louise the Zero without repercussions. There were no teachers around, and while it was true that Montmorency started it, the one who initiated the duel was Louise Valliere, all because of a mere commoner. If it was a matter of witnesses, none of them would side with a failure of a mage.

Or so Montmorency thought...

Just when she was sure of her victory, just when she was about to make the Zero admit her surrender, someone had the nerve to interrupt her fight. And not only did that someone have the nerve to interrupt her fight...

_..._

"_I apologize for cutting off your little declaration, Ms. Valliere, but as your second, I cannot allow you to throw this fight... especially not against an opponent whose potential is far lower compared to yours."_

_..._

That particular someone insulted her, the words hitting a delicate nerve. _To suggest that I am weaker than this failure. How dare she!_

"What did you say?"

"Do I have to repeat myself? Can't you understand plain Halkegenian, Montmorency?" The girl with silvery pink hair, who had turned her attention towards the speaker, asked with raised eyebrows.

At these words, murmurs and whispers could be heard coming from the crowd.

"Are you saying that I am weaker than Valliere, even though it is obvious that I am superior?" The blonde-haired female asked quietly.

"You are misunderstanding. I never said that you are weaker than her." The girl replied as if stating the obvious. "As it stands, if the two of you were to fight ten duels at your current level, you would undoubtedly beat her each and every time. I merely stated the fact that she has more potential than you do."

"So what you are saying is that while I am stronger than her at the moment if we were to fight at our full potential I will lose? Isn't that still the same as saying that I am weaker?"

"Potentially, you are much weaker than her," the grey-eyed female said with a shrug. "Of course, that will depend on how far Ms. Valliere is willing to..."

"ENOUGH!" Montmorency screamed, as she sent a jet of compressed water at the person who interrupted their duel.

Only for it to be stopped, as a ball of fire met her water spell in midair, the two spells cancelling each other out in an explosion of steam.

Despite her internal turmoil, Montmorency did her best to remain calm. Irritated though she might be, the line class water mage was no fool. She might not like what the girl said, but based from everything that's happened so far, there was no doubt that she was a mage, and not just any mage, but a mage who could probably match her or even defeat her. Thus, the girl tried to remain calm and composed. However, after hearing those words, the young blonde-haired female was now losing her cool. She may be faced with someone who she believed could be stronger than her, but with her anger started to rise, that feeling was slowly being rendered irrelevant. She had pride as a noble after all.

"Regardless of what you believe," Montmorency began, barely able to keep her voice calm, as she tried to hide the fact that she was alarmed at how easy her magical attack was parried, as well as the fact that the fire spell had been cast without a wand. "It does not change the fact that you interrupted a fight between two nobles. Regardless of how you feel about it, I have already won the duel. Even if you're her second, we have never discussed anything about having a second."

"Exactly the point," the girl replied with a smile. "You see, neither of you had any prior conversation on the terms and conditions of your duel, you just went right ahead with it. And if I'm not mistaken, if a duel is started without discussing any of the terms and conditions, it means that anything, as long as it does not violate the standard code of duels, will be allowed, and a second stepping in when the main fighter is down is not against the rules, is it?"

As she heard these words, Montmorency knew that she was in trouble. She too, was aware of how duels were fought, and since the girl in front of her was aware of it as well, there was no way her verbal ramblings could force her to back down.

_Darn it, I've already used up a lot of Willpower, and this girl, whoever she is, is certainly no pushover. She's probably even stronger than me!_ _If only I made Zero yield sooner. _The blonde-haired female cursed inwardly_._

"Look," the silver-haired female began wearily, as if aware of exactly what Montmorency was thinking. "If you are irked by the fact that I interfered, then why don't you call in your own second to aid you? Surely there is someone here willing to fight in your place?"

_Hmmm..._

Montmorency looked around, as she tried to look for someone to help her. Being a sociable person, it should have been easy for her to get someone to aid her. However, due to the circumstances, most of the people who met her eye averted their gaze, implying that they did not want to take any part in the fight, not even Guiche. And even if he did volunteer, he was only a Dot Level Mage, whereas the girl Montmorency was facing would be a line level mage at least. There was just no competition.

_Cowards,_ Montmorency thought to herself.

"What, no volunteers?"The female clad in red taunted, as she turned her head towards the crowd, all of whom immediately took a step back as she did so.

Margarita Montmorency was now getting really nervous. On one hand, she could always walk away and declare that she had no reason to continue fighting as she had already beaten the Zero. However, if she did that, then she would be branded as a coward for running away. She may have thoroughly beaten the Zero, but since it was the Zero who she had beaten in the first place, it was hardly to be remembered, and the news that would spread would not be that 'Montmorency beat the Zero,' but rather, it would be more along the lines of 'Montmorency ran like a coward from a duel.'

However, if she did continue, then the end result would be the same. As of present, Montmorency, having cast several spells, was only fighting at half power. If only she did not take her time toying with her opponent, she would not be in this mess, and perhaps, if she did not waste too many spells, she would still have a sufficient amount of Willpower. Still...

"So you're going to fight me even if you're in that state?" The female with silver-pink hair inquired.

"Cheh, that is of no consequence. I am Margarita Montmorency the Fragrance, after all. I don't need to be at my best to beat someone like you," Montmorency replied, her voice full confidence, yet in truth, she was actually afraid on the inside. Still...

_I'd rather go down fighting than run away like a coward,_ thought the blonde-haired female to herself, as she readied her wand, while mentally preparing herself for her oncoming defeat. _At least this way, even if I'm beaten, my honor will remain intact._

"Very well then, I am Sakura Pendragon Emiya ... don't expect me to show you any mercy just because you're handicapped, it's your own fault that you are in that state after all," the other girl replied, bowing her head as she did so while Montmorency, knowing it was only proper courtesy, did the same.

"WAIT, STOP!"

"MMMMPH?!"

_?!_

Before they could resume their fight, however, a tall, tanned female with flowing red ran to the center of the commotion.

"Zerbst, what the heck do you think you're doing?!" Montmorency snapped at the red head, her face just about as red as the taller female's hair. Given that the blonde just had her head buried in the other woman's chest, it was not really that much of a surprise.

"You know, if I were in your place, I would be thanking me instead of getting angry. You should be grateful you know."

"And why should, in the name of the Founder, I be grateful to you?"

"Because I'll be taking your place," the female Zerbst grinned. "I'll be fighting her instead, as your second."

As she said these words, murmurs could once again be heard from the crowd.

"Whaa..."

"Our beloved Kirche is fighting?"

"But she's..."

"...a triangle class..."

"This is going to be good."

"That girl wouldn't stand a chance against Kirche!"

"I'm not so sure of that."

Montmorency could only stare in wonder at the red-headed female who had now let go of her. The two of them, in all honesty, had never been close, due to the fact that she had seen her love interest, Guiche, coming out of the tanned female's room before, just like several of the other males in school. In fact, when it comes to people Montmorency did not like, Kirche von Zerbst was actually at the top five of her list.

Now, however, as the girl made her declaration, Montmorency the Fragrance could not help but feel grateful to her. She knew of course, that the Zerbst undoubtedly had other motives for doing this, but even still, even though it was not her intention to help her, the fact is that Kirche, unintentional though it was, was getting her out of a tight spot.

Was it to humiliate the Valliere girl further? Or was it simply because the other female interested her? Regardless of the reason, Montmorency the Fragrance knew that she should be thankful to the fiery-haired female.

"Very well, I'll leave it to you then," Montmorency replied, as she started walking away from the center of the Vestri Court to join the rest of the crowd, but not before muttering two words to the red-headed female.

"Good luck." Margarita Montmorency whispered to the Germanian, who whispered a quick "thanks" back in response.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Louise had always been a failure when it comes to magic. Unlike her talented sisters, who have proper elemental affinities, and are thus able to focus on the correct kinds of spell to practice, Louise had none. She was incompatible with any of the four elements. Every single spell she tried did nothing at best, though most of the time, it ended in an explosion.

Thus, she was not surprised when the spells she practiced ended with a bang. And thus, in her failure, Louise once again expected to be scolded, to be punished, for being a failure.

Instead of getting a sermon or a demeaning comment however, to Louise's surprise, were encouraging smiles from her mother and father.

Feeling her confidence rising at the fact that there her parents who believed in her, Louise tried casting once again, and to her great shock and joy, she had succeeded. The spell she cast before, which only resulted in an explosion, yielded the right results, and in both her hands, she was now holding two swords, one black, the other white, mirror images of each other, swords which had come from nothing but the recess of her mind, twin swords which were brought into existence through the use of a form of magic called Tr...

"AMAZING!"

_?!_

Louise Valliere woke up with a start, feeling confused, and for obvious reasons, irritated, as she found herself lying on the ground, and while the first thing she saw were the two moons in the sky, which was indeed a rather nice thing to view, it did not make her feel any better. She had been having a wonderful dream after all, and then her slumber was rudely interrupted by a sudden shout that rang in her ear.

Her irritation, however, only lasted for a moment, and was immediately replaced by dread, as she recalled exactly what she had been doing.

_Vestri Court... I remember I challenged Montmorency to a duel and then, and then... and then..._

"GO KIRCHE! YOU CAN DO IT!"

The last thing she remembered, was that she was being demolished, utterly humiliated, in a duel with Montmercy the Fragrance, wrapped in chains made out of water, without any means of escape. She was slowly choking to death from its pressure, and her enemy, with a look of triumph on her face, had been forcing her to yield, before...

"Oh you're finally awake, Zero Louise..."

"What do you want Common Cold Malicorne?"

"Oh, nothing, I just want to ask you how much money you spent to get that girl to work for you." The fat boy replied.

Louise was now feeling irritated. Here was one of her many classmates who just loved mocking her.

"What in the world are you taking a..." Louise began as she sat up straight, but she did not managed to finish that sentence, as before she could do so, she found herself distracted by a sudden wave of warm air that hit her full in the face.

"**FIRE BALL!"**

"**AIR BULLET!"**

_By the Founder..._

Louise could not help but gape in shock, the anger she was feeling a moment before completely forgotten.

Admittedly, Louise was impressed. Despite the fact that she was bitter against Kirche the Ardent, Louise, while never admitting it openly, she actually respected and envied the Zerbst both at the same time, because she had everything, the looks, the body, and the magical prowess. And yet, here she was, finding herself matched spell for spell, by someone who Louise would never expect it from. However, the fact that someone had been able to fight evenly with the red-headed female was not what caught Louise's attention the most.

Sakura Emiya, she was the girl who Louise had committed a grave offense against, a girl whose familiar, while it was unintentional, she attempted to steal through the Familiar Summoning Ritual. To make matters worse, she actually tried to bind the girl in an attempt to make her her familiar, mistaking her for a mere commoner, which she turned out to be not.

And yet, here she was, fighting in a duel in an effort to help her. Louise may not be able to cast spells properly, but when it comes to taking in information and processing them, she was someone who was quick on the uptake, and it did not take her long to put two and two together. Based from the murmurs she heard, the silver-haired female had apparently interrupted her and Montmorency's duel. Then, if that were not enough, she actually declared herself as Louise's second, and then proceeded to take on Kirche von Zerbst, who decided to join the fray.

_Why?_ The pink-haired female found herself asking herself the same question over and over again. Why, after everything she had done, after the obvious pain and inconvenience Louise had caused, was Sakura Emiya sticking up for her? She remembered it now, what happened before she passed, how the mage with silver-pink hair interfered with her duel with Montmorency, shattering the water binding her while at the same time, insulting the line class water mage, all the while saying words that Louise knew were meant to give her encouragement.

Thus, while the rest of the students continued watching the duel between the two female mages intently, Louise was only doing so half-heartedly, her mind more focused on the mysterious girl than on the duel, the pinkette's confusion increasing further along with a feeling of gratefulness, when she realized that she was actually wearing Sakura Emiya's red coat, which the grey-eyed female had undoubtedly wrapped around her to keep her warm...

**xxxXXXxxx**

To most of the people who were watching the magical duel that was happening in the middle of Vestri Courtyard, they would probably say that the two combatants were deadly serious. Even though they were both mages and nobles, most of the students, save for a few, had not yet had their first taste of true battle, had not yet experienced their first time taking another person's life, not even that of a commoner's. Mages may consider the non-magical folk as beneath them, but even then, even if many of them had little conscience with regards to them, and loved using commoners as something akin to their steeds, or, as in the case of the female maids, for various forms of entertainment, killing was still a line they could not cross.

And it was for this very reason that most of them thought that the two duelists were seriously trying to kill each other. Due to the intensity of the fight, the spectators had once again passively moved further out to give the fighters more space, as well to avoid getting in their line of fire. The ground was scorched and the grass was uprooted in several places, while a small crater formed between the two fighters testimony to the intensity of the power play that was unfolding before them.

Which is exactly what it was... just a play. The two mages may be seriously trying to take each other down, but unlike what most believed, neither of them, despite the strength of their attacks, was actually trying to fatally wound the other, even if they could easily do so by accident. Most of the nobles around were greenhorns, and thus could not tell, but the select few who had some real battle experience could tell that neither of the two duelists was emitting killing intent.

In fact, both fighters were actually smiling.

Kirche was impressed. Being a Zerbst, a member of a noble family in Germania, she had initially been sent to a Germanian Magic School, which, unlike Tristain Academy of Magic which she was currently in, was much more strict and combat focused. Naturally, being a free-spirit individual, Kirche did not like it, and thus she transferred to Tristain, both to escape marrying a dirty old general (while she was a nymphomaniac, there were men who even Kirche the Ardent could not stomach sleeping with, and just thinking about it made her sick), as well as to continue her life of freedom.

Still, even though she lacked discipline, in the few months that she had been in that Germanian magic school, Kirche was actually among those with the greatest battle prowess. She may be carefree, but when it comes right down to it, very few had ever been able to match her, and none of those at the same year as her in that supposedly militaristic school had been able to even touch her hair in a spar. And in Tristain Magic Academy, there was only one person who had ever been able to match her, and it was none other than her best friend, Tabitha.

Was, however, was the correct statement, as now, there were two of them. Two mages who she knew could go toe to toe with her aside from the teachers.

"Impressive," Kirche commented, as she ducked to dodge a mass of compressed air that was sent in her direction, while at the same time sending a ball of fire at her opponent, who countered it by also casting a fire ball spell, the two orbs cancelling each other out in mid-air in an explosion of flames. "To think that you are able to use fire and wind at such strength, and without a wand at that... you're probably a triangle mage at least. Just how much did Valliere pay you for your services anyway?"

"You're pretty good yourself," The grey-eyed female returned the compliment, while jumping sideways to avoid getting tied up by a flame whip that was conjured by Kirche. "As to insinuating that I was somehow hired by Ms. Valliere to perform a few stunts, I'm sorry to tell you but you are mistaken. In fact, if I had a choice, I wouldn't even be here."

"Oh? If that's the case, then why are you here, Ms. Emiya? Don't tell me that the rumours of her summoning you is actually true?" The tanned girl inquired. After all, she was there when the female with silver-pink hair was summoned, and while she was talking that way, Kirche knew full well that it was true.

"The rumours of Ms. Valliere summoning me is half-true, actually," the other girl admitted. "Technically though, it was my crow, not me, which she summoned."

"Your familiar?" Kirche asked in an incredulous tone, as she used her flaming whip to smash the balls of ice that were hurled at her, confirming that the girl she was fighting was indeed a triangle class.

"Yes, my familiar," the other girl responded with a frown, while conjuring a gust of wind to change the trajectory of her opponent's whip. "I don't know why, but for some reason, her Summon Servant spell actually called out to my crow. Naturally, since Raiga is my familiar, there was no way I was letting him go, and thus I made a foolish mistake and I ended up getting sucked into the spell along with him."

"Definitely foolish," the red-headed female agreed, while dispelling her flame whip to avoid getting hurt by her own spell.

"If you were in my place, though, Ms. Zerbst, and you see your partner being taken from you, what would you have done?" The girl Sakura Emiya inquired. By this point, the two of them stopped casting spells, and were now standing a few meters from each other, although both of them kept their guards up.

"I would have probably made the exact same mistake as you," Kirche von Zerbst admitted. "Still, that does not explain why you are helping a failure like Louise the Zero. I mean, if what you are saying is true, then what she had done to you could actually be considered a grave offense."

"It was only a coincidence so I'm letting it go with a little compensation," Sakura Emiya replied with a shrug. "After all, when you cast Summon Servant, you never really know where your spell will appear or what kind of familiar will answer to your call, although if you know your element, you could narrow down your list."

"Point taken," the red-headed female replied.

"Anyway, Ms. Zerbst," the girl with silvery-pink hair began. "Do you really want to know why I'm helping Ms. Valliere?"

"Of course," Kirche responded with a smirk. "So what is this reason? Why are you helping Zero Louise?"

"I see," the girl replied. "Then, I will tell you..._I don't like bullies_."

_?!_

Suddenly, the red-headed female felt a chill creep down her spine.

And before she could react, without being able to do anything, she found herself face to face with her opponent, steel grey eyes staring at her coldly and sharply, as cold and sharp as the tip of the blade which Kirche could feel pressed against her throat.

_What in the world? I didn't even see her move! And that sword... that was an Earth Spell, which means... oh Founder, she's a square class mage!_

"Do you yield?"

In truth, Kirche, being a friend of Tabitha, had been through dangerous missions before, facing bandits, dragons, as well as getting involved other dangerous situations. Never, in all those times, however, had the red-headed female with tanned skin felt this frightened, as she found herself closer to death than any of those other times put together.

Sakura Emiya, as far as Kirche could tell, was not such a bad person. However, like most people, or nobles for that matter, she had her own set of principles which she followed, and it seemed as if bullying was something which was unacceptable in her book.

Realizing that she may have made a mistake in her choice of words, Kirche went for the most logically correct course of action.

"I yield." the red-haired female declared, and immediately she felt the sharp blade being withdrawn from her neck.

She may like danger and adventure like her friend Tabitha, but she certainly was not suicidal. And now that her opponent was showing true hostility, there was only one option left for Kirche the Ardent...

... to surrender and accept defeat.

_Montmercy, you owe me big time for this,_ grumbled Kirche in her thoughts. She did not know exactly why, but for some reason, she could not but feel that if the water mage continued the duel, her opponent would not have shown her the same leniency that Kirche had been given.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Bullying. Hurting others deliberately just for the heck of it, was among the many offenses which Sakura would never turn a blind to, unless it was necessary that she did so. Due to her precarious situation, Sakura, in all honesty, intended to help the Valliere girl. After all, aside from her obvious resemblance to someone from Sakura's vague memories, as well as her possible connection to it, the Executor's partner crow, Raiga, had taken a liking to the pinkette, and aside from that, Sakura to, admittedly, had also taken a liking to her herself.

Which was why, when she saw that the stuck-up mages in the school had been ganging up on her, Sakura had been unable to stop herself, and instead of finding a discreet solution to the problem, she went out to solve it head on.

Sakura did not regret her decision to go out into the open, and what she had done actually seemed to have some positive impacts, although she knew there were also be repercussions. She has performed magic in front of many witnesses, and it would undoubtedly cement her position as well as her falsified status of being a noble, and from the way they looked at her, she had undoubtedly earned their respect. Sakura may not like mages, but given the situation she was in, it was something which she needed.

True, she regretted missing the opportunity to directly humiliate Montmorency, the one who was directly responsible for hurting the pink-haired mage, but then, getting to fight Kirche von Zerbst was not such a bad compensation. She was a triangle class mage after all, and Sakura had to admit that battling against her was good exercise. The young Executor may have refrained from using her main skills in battle, but she had to admit that the girl she fought was quite good.

In fact, even though the red-headed female seemed to act carefree, based from her mannerisms and manner of breathing, it was obvious that she had a lot of control. And aside from that, her eyes... her eyes, unlike what she appeared to be, were that of a warrior. Her primary objective may have been to aid Louise Valliere, but Sakura had to admit that it had been the perfect opportunity for her to test how well she would fare against the magi of Halkegenia.

Still, while she seemed to have gained the acceptance of the school's noble student population in general, her actions would also merit unwanted attention.

Square class mages. In the magic ranking system of Halkegenia, it was the highest level a mage could reach, and very few compared to the total population of mages. Unfortunately for Sakura, it seems that she had shown too much during the duel, and now there would be more eyes who would be looking in her direction, something which she knew will be not be easy to deal with. In truth, she actually wanted to pose as simply a line or triangle mage.

However, thanks to the crowd mistaking her Projection magic as Earth magic when she Traced a sword and placed it on the red-haired female's throat, they now believe her to be a square class mage.

_Still, what is done is done, there's no point dwelling, _the young Executor sighed in her thoughts, as she stopped thinking about what happened and instead focused her attention on the book she was reading. Due to her actions, she knew that she would probably be called to the Headmaster's office once again that night or the next day, but it did not really matter. After all, she had already rehearsed several verbal speeches and dialogues to handle it. The most important thing for her right now was to gain more information.

Just as the young Executor was about to go into her 'bookworm mode', however, she found herself interrupted from doing so by a sudden knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Sakura inquired, as she moved without a sound to the side of the door as was her habit. She knew that her actions would probably make her seem paranoid to other people, but then, with the kind of life that a member of the 8th Sacrament lived, she knew she can never be too careful.

"It's me, Louise Valliere." came the response.

Still not convinced, Sakura closed her eyes and transferred her sight to one of her constructed familiars which she placed on the ceiling outside her door. Seeing that it was indeed the Valliere girl, the young Executor opened the door.

"Good evening, Ms. Valliere," Sakura greeted the girl with a smile. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

**xxxXXXxxx**

**To be continued...**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Alright, another chapter out. Now, I suppose it's not really that easy writing something like this. I kind of wanted to continue first with my other fic, Fate Zero: Blade Sanctuary, though unfortunately, I am currently at a writer's block there and since I am partially unblocked for this fic, I decided to proceed with it.

Now then, ever since I started writing this fic some people had been asking me about the stats of Sakura Emiya, and now I suppose I've finished it. Of course, this is bound to go through some changes later as her experiences pile up, but for now, here is her stats. Note: she is not a Servant, but a human being, I am only writing this in terms of Servant Stats, but again, Sakura is human.

Now I noticed that some of you are complaining about her overkill stats. Well, since that's the case, I suppose it's necessary, since many competent Halkegenian mages are high speed casters who fight from the distance. Also, I suppose I should post the stats of her parents here as well.

* * *

Character Profile 1

Name: Sakura Pendragon Emiya

Also Known As: The Third Magus Killer

Profession: Executor, Mage Hunter, Researcher

Age: 17

Sex: Female

Height and Weight: Sakura is about a head taller than Louise, and her body figure is similar to Rin's, although her chest is bigger. (I'll edit this later once I decided on the precise measurements, if I can.).

Alignment: Lawful Good

Stats

The left stat applies when she is using Reinforcement and other body enhancing spells. The right stat applies when she activates a certain Rune. Of course, the stats increase is also affected depending on what kind of weapon she decides to wield. Otherwise, all her stats in her normal state would be just about a level or two above that of an average human, with the exception of her reflexes.

Of course, the stats on the left is her normal stats in battles, which is just about enough for her to be able to match a Dead Apostle, which is just about on par with a Servant, one on one.

Strength: D-C+

Endurance: C-A+

Agility: B-A++

Magical Energy: B-?

Luck: C-B+

Origin (False): Sword

Elements (False): Sword, Wind, Water, Fire

Origin (True): Void/Blank

Element (True): Void/Blank

Presently, despite her level of intelligence, Sakura does not yet have a full grasp of her abilities, and thus she is still unaware of her true origin and element on a conscious level.

* * *

Character Profile 2

Name: Arturia Pendragon Emiya

Age: 28(Physical)

Profession: Housewife, Volunteer (Part-time), Gambler (Secretly)

Alignment: Lawful Good

Stats

Strength: B

Endurance: A

Agility: A

Magical Energy: A

Luck: B (A++ when it comes to gambling)

Other details will be reserved for later.

* * *

Character Profile 3

Name: Shirou Emiya

Age: 28

Alignment: Lawful Good

Profession: Handy-man, Chef, All-around Utility Worker, Volunteer (Part-time)

Stats

Strength: C

Endurance: C

Agility: B

Magical Energy: B

Luck: E

Other details will be reserved for later.

* * *

So there you have it, Emiya Sakura's basic stats. I will not be posting all her skills and/or noble phantasms here though, since if I did, then I might ruin the suspense (not to mention that I am still thinking about what to write). And since it will be revealed in the succeeding chapters anyway, I suppose it will not be necessary. The stats on the left side of the equation indicate her regular stats, and it could go up depending on several factors, which include spells, magecraft and the weapons she used, as well as a particular Rune.

And before I forget, as I'm sure you've noticed, many mages in Halkegenia prefer to fire off powerful spells while maintaining a safe distance, many are even on mounts, so basically, the stats are just enough to balance things out.

But enough about that...

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then, people...


End file.
